Near To You
by plummuffins
Summary: "By Asgard, do you ever shut up?" Loki rounded on him, rising to his feet so that he towered over the billionaire. "When you sleep, you snore, when you are awake, you talk. I have half a mind to snap your neck right now, if not for risk of your rotting corpse permeating this cell with it's stench." xxxxxxxxxFROSTIRON! slash/ warning. :P Don't like it? Shove off. Rated M ;
1. Chapter 1: Captured

Near To You

A/N: FROSTIRON! LOL my first Avengers fic and first frostiron fic... please r&r! i love constructive critisism. Also, listen to No Light, No Light by Florence+The Machine. it's Loki's song. :)

xxxxxx

Chapter 1: Captured

Tony fell down, gasping as his body collided with the hard stone floor. The man who threw him down laughed, spitting terrible words in Russian that Stark had no hope of understanding.

_This could get bad,_he grimanced, remembering his last encounter with captivity. The man who had dumped Tony on the ground had left before Tony could call some snarky thank you after him.

The billionaire sighed, working up the will to sit up. He had been in his tower merely a day ago, unaware of the plans forming to his capture. All he wanted was a nice comfy bed and instead he had a stony cell with a couple blankets to fight off the cold.

_Where the fuck am I?_

He finally sat up and looked around the cell. It was damp and dark. Charming. He grunted, pulling himself over to the two blankets, wrapping one around himself, annoyed by the thin fabric.

"Fucking barbarians," he grumbled to himself. Then he froze, hearing shuffling in the corner of the toom that was most cast in shadow. He gulped, praying the Russians hadn't locked him up with a beast of any kind.

He was looking around for any loose stones to use as weapons and was feeling the tendrils of terror creep into his heart when, suddenly, a pale and weak green light illuminated the room brighter than the two security lights on the floor by the door. The source of the light was none other than Loki, the asshole god whose plans he and his team had been thwarting. Tony stiffened, jumping to his feet but relaxed a bit when he realized the god was just sitting there, his body awkwardly twisted and clearly supported by the wall. Tony watched as the hand holding the flickering flame shook from the obvious exertion of doing so. He frowned, taking in the dark rings under Loki's eyes and the fresh and old lacerations covering every part of his body that was exposed from the torn casual clothing of Asgard-clothes not unsimilar to what Thor sometimes wore. Tony's eyes focused on the two green orbs staring at him, they shone a mixture of disdain, pain, and exhaustion.

Tony cleared his throat, "Um, hi. Come here often?" His voice shook slightly, ruining his attempt at humor and betraying his own exhaustion and fear.

The god let out a sigh, closing his eyes, either to remain calm or out of exhaustion Tony didn't know. "Stark. Of all the mortals I could be stuck with." With that, the god let his hand drop weakly, the flame still glowing, but barely.

Tony felt a tinge of concern, despite himself, and took a few steps closer, stopping when the god's eyes snapped open and sent him a chilling glare, or what would have been chilling if it wasn't so halfhearted and pained.

"Relax, big guy. I can't possibly hope to injure you without my suit," Tony grumbled, a bit begrudgedly. He then closed the distance between himself and the weakened god, not missing the flash of uncertainity in Loki's eyes. He reached out nervously to feel the god's head, frowning at the feverish skin. "What'd they do to you?" he muttered, mostly to himself.

Loki closed his eyes again, aparently giving up on watching his enemy. Tony huffed slightly, annoyed a bit at the lack of a threat he was. Then he tore the blanket he was using into strips, ignoring the voice in the back of his head that was nagging at him for even considering helping this murderer._Aren't I one too_?

When the blanket was completely reduced to a pile of strips, Stark calmly reached out and took hold of Loki's wrist which held the flame. He didn't think about what he was doing as he used the light to discover and wrap the worst of the injuries on the sorcerer. When he had all but one particularly bad laceration bound, he observed that he still had a bunch of scraps left and momentarily mooned over the idea of still having_some_blanket left but shrugged the thought off.

While he had been binding the god's wounds, the only acknowledgement Tony recieved that Loki was aware of what Tony was doing was the occasional hiss or slight whimper when the man would accidentally be too rough. Tony couldn't help but feel a tug at his heart at each sound and would mutter quiet "sorry"'s before continuing. But the instant Tony touched the deepest and most painful looking laceration, the god's eyes shot open and his free hand grasped Tony's wrist, no doubt leaving a bruise, and the look the god gave him was feverish and desperate.

Tony initially bristled at the reaction, but once he saw the look in those emerald eyes, his face relaxed into a gentle expression. He gently laid down the arm with the fire and began to pry the god's long and usually strong fingera from around his wrist. "It's okay, kid. I won't hurt you too badly. Just count to ten and I'll be done," He resisted the urge to smile at himslelf as he repeated the words a doctor would say before tearing off a bandaid.

Loki eyed him nervously but let the man pry his fingers off. Tony met those green eyes with the most reassuring look he could muster. Then he returned to binding the god's torso where the wound was. While he was doing so, he didn't miss the sharp intake of breath from his patient, nor did he miss the trembling exhale when he'd finished.

"There," he smiled, "Wasn't so bad, hm?" The green flame sputtered out, but Tony coulfld still see the glowing eyes of his fellow prisoner.

Loki's gaze was penitrating as he gave the billionaire a confused look.

"Why-"

Tony held up a hand, cutting off the question he had no answer to. "You're welcome." Then he stood up, grunting as his muscles creaked to life after kneeling so long on the cold ground. He walked over to the other blanket and brought it back, spreading it over the injured man. "Rest up, you look like death," he grumbled, before walking to the opposite wall and sinking to the ground, begrudgedly accepting the cold, unrestful sleep he had condemned himself to. He closed his eyes and tried to drift off, listening to the ragged breathing of the god accross from him. After about ten minutes of shivering, Tony opened his eyes and saw that the god was, and probably had been, staring at him. He shifted uncomfortably under the calm green stare. He was debating shooting a snide remark off when the god slowly blinked and sighed.

"Come here, Stark," Loki muttered.

Tony hesitated, unsure what he'd heard. "Um."

Loki growled softly, "I'd rather not have to get up myself." His voice was strained with exhaustion and Tony wrinkled his nose at the pity he felt for the god.

"Fine." He sighed, teeth chattering. He pushed himself up and stumbled over to the trickster who hadn't moved an inch. Tony remembered that the position Loki was in was probably not comfortable. Without thinking, Tony crouched and lifted the god into an undoubtably more comfortable position. Loki hissed at the movement but didn't resist the readjustment. When he finished, Tony stood to move away again but Loki caught his arm and pulled him tumbling onto him.

Loki laughed slightly as Tony swore, pushing himself off the injured man, "What-"

"Just get under the blanket before I change my mind, human." Loki's eyes twinkled slightly with mirth as he watched the human take in what he was offering him. Tony hesitated but Loki growled again, "There is no way I can sleep with your teeth chattering all night."

Tony frowned,_Ah, what the heck._He slid down next to his enemy and scooted closer, allowing himself to be covered in the blanket as well. He sat there awkwardly, feeling himself warm as his shivering faded. He couldn't sleep like this! His whole body rebelled against the proximity he shared with someone who wanted nothing more than to kill him. He sighed quietly, resiating the urge to look next to him. He felt Loki shift slightly and then he froze as the god rested his head on his shoulder. Holy fuck. He glanced down at the trickster, seeing a peaceful look on his face as his breathing slowed. Tony relaxed a bit, feeling his own exhaustion creep into his bones. The steading rise and fall of the sleeping god's breathing slowly lulled him into an uneasy rest.

xxxxxx

A/N: What do you think? Um, not much incharacterness happening here, since one of them is half dead. Let's see how this goes. Please reveiw! Reviews are my oxygen! Also, if you don't, then Loki will not talk to you. (He's passive agressive).


	2. Chapter 2: Um, Ouch

.A/N: Here is part two! Hopefully this has less oocness, but honestly i doubt it. i mean, this IS fanfiction. So what you're about to read is what happened in my head. :) Sadly I am not either of these ravishing men.

Also my fanauthoring skills are rusty. The only fandom I successfully portray is KH, and that was thanks to 3 years of dutiful obsession. So please excuse my failings and remember we're all fans!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Cept the sexy Russian guards. /; ...And Ivan. since I just invented him.

xxxxxx

chapter 2: Um, Ouch

Agony. That is the only word to describe what Tony felt as his arm hung loosely at his side, broken. The man who broke the billionaire's left arm was moving to break the right when a subtle movement from the stocky Russian standing in front of him stopped the assault. Tony gritted his teeth, glaring at the man in front of him.

"What gives, Russkie, quitting already?" He spat.

The burly man who was stopped grabbed Tony's injured arm and twisted it at the break point, eliciting a strangled scream from Tony as a white hot pain brought him to his knees. "Better," he gasped, "I was beginning to think you were going easy on me."

The man who was clearly in charge chuckled humorlessly, "Ah, but we are, as you say, 'going easy,' American." He moved to stand before Tony, who stumbled to his feet, cradling his arm to his chest. Images of waterboarding and bamboo shoots being shoved under his fingernails caused Tony to flinch inwardly. _Yeah, it could get worse_. "I am Ivan Romanoff," the man's eyes glittered coldly as he drawled in accented English.

Tony blinked in shock, recognizing Tasha's last name. "Spidey sure didn't get her looks from you," he quipped.

Ivan's lips twisted into a cold smile. "If she had her mother's appearance, she would be dead. Regrettably that is not the case."

Tony lifted an eyebrow, "Okay, vodka breath, care to tell me why I'm here?"

The Russian man leaned closer to Tony's face. Vodka breath was an accurate assumption. "You will be giving me information, Iron Man. The whereabouts of my failure of a daughter and how to infiltrate the place she is hidden within."

Tony's jaw dropped and he was offended, despite of himself, "Really? No master plan involving my vast genius? You kidnapped me from my favourite bar, brought me here, locked me up with a psychopath, and broke my arm solely for the purpose of hunting down one of my teammates?" He scoffed, "Why not just kidnap _her_?"

Ivan's jaw muscle ticked in anger and he punched Tony in the gut, knocking the air out of the billionaire. "The goal is to end her, _blyad'_."

"That's...not a nice...word, I'll bet," Tony gasped. He caught his breath quickly, "What does Loki have to do with this?"

Ivan grinned wickedly, "We captured your other teammate before you. He helped us by giving us the location of the Avenger's Tower." Yeah, the tower in the middle of New York with a giant 'A' on it. So helpful.

Tony blinked, feeling the intense desire to facepalm. Did he just hear that correctly? "Wait, you think..." oh my shit. "Reindeer Games isn't my team-"

"Silence, you cannot fool me!" Ivan spat at him. "Tell me where Natasha is."

_Please let someone rescue me_. Suddenly he wanted a shirt that said "I'm With Stupid." Time to be facetious. "I don't know, I'm no where near her." That earned him another punch. "You...asked!" He gasped indignantly.

"Tell me what I desire to know!"

This guy was ridiculous. "How did you even capture someone like Loki, you nitwit?"

Ivan bared his teeth in a mockery of a smile. "We have our ways of neutralizing magic." Of course.

Tony sighed, glancing around the dank cavern they were in. "Can I go home now?" He wasn't beneath whining when his captors lacked intelligence.

Ivan huffed, obviously annoyed at his inability to get the narcissistic twat to talk. "Take him to his cell, I will deal with him later," he barked at the guard. He then said something in aggravated Russian into his headset. Tony wished he understood.

The Russian roughly grabbed Tony by his shirt, half lifting half shoving him back towards the room. When he opened the door and shoved the billionaire into the dark space, Tony called after him, "What, all this manhandling and I don't even get flowers?" He sighed as the door slammed shut. "What about my one phone call? Hello!" His arm was throbbing and it was taking all of his strength to stand. Frustrated, he slumped his back against the metal door, sliding down it until he was sitting. "Why can't psychotic kidnappers hide in 5 star hotels?" he grumbled to himself.

A shuffling in the corner reminded him he was not alone. Tony looked down at his black longsleeved shirt, for once annoyed at how the fabric muffled the light of his arc reactor. He wished he could see his enemy.

As if he heard Tony's thoughts, Loki staggered out of the shadow and into the dimly lit space Tony occupied. "Hey Reindeer Games," he grinned at the disheveled sorcerer. "You know that idiot Russian thinks we're allies, right?"

The god sat cross-legged in the middle of the room, his back straight and his eyes closed in concentration. He grunted in reply to Tony's words.

"Whatcha doing?" He had to talk before the pain drove him insane. "Meditating? Praying for rain?" He looked down at his crooked arm, realizing they had broken his forearm and frowning. Isn't there an artery there somewhere? If only Bruce were here. "Oh jeez, don't tell me you're praying to yourself. That's plain wrong."

"Hush," Loki snapped, his brow creased.

Tony fidgeted, "It's too quiet not to talk," he complained, receiving a cold look from the trickster. "Just tell me what you're doing."

Loki growled, closing his eyes again. "I am summoning my magic back, which is hard to accomplish with you running your mouth."

"Why would I want you to regain your ability to kill me?"_Cause we all know he can't kill me without magic_. Great. Being sarcastic to yourself, it's the first sign of madness. Tony began to push his bone back into line with it's other half, feeling queasy at the pain. "I think interrupting you benefits me better than experiencing death-by-Loki-magic." _Distract yourself, Stark._

Those green orbs snapped open angrily, "You are about to experience being throttled if you do not cease your chatter," the god retorted, irritably. "You Midgardians are the embodiment of annoying."

Tony hissed as he tried to maneuver the bone. "Ow," he laughed humorlessly. "Fucking barbarians," he swore for the second time. He looked up to see Loki watching him still, the green look more bemused that murderous. "Go back to meditating, Gandalf. I'll be quiet."

Loki obviously didn't get the reference and Tony made a mental note to somehow force the trickster to sit through those movies. The god closed his eyes again and returned to whatever he was doing. Tony took a few calming breaths before trying to set his arm again. The attempt resulted in lots of loud swearing and gasping.

Loki's eyes narrowed as he slowly opened them. Tony barely spared him a glance, too focused on his arm. He knew it was pertinent that he set the limb as soon as possible. But at the rate he was going, it wouldn't surprise him if he wound up splitting skin or pinching the artery._I think I'm in trouble_, he groaned to himself as black dots began to spot his vision Where was a doctor when he needed one?

Loki slowly rose to his feet and crouched before the billionaire. Tony didn't even look up at him, thoroughly anticipating that throttling he was promised. But the sorcerer reached out with his long, slender fingers and took the offending limb in a surprisingly gentle grip. Tony looked at his enemy warily, panting shallowly from the pain. The sorcerer had a concentrated frown on his face while he examined the break, eliciting a gasp and hiss when he prodded it. Tony was staring at him with unseeing eyes, trying to go to his happy place.

The green orbs rose to meet Tony's gaze, causing the billionaire to focus. "This is going to be rather painful."

Was that glee in his voice? Tony shuddered and leaned his head back against the door, closing his eyes. "Hurry up, Reindeer Games." He heard his voice come out as a ragged half whisper, totally ruining his macho facade.

Loki positioned his hands on either half of the limb, then, without warning, he pulled the two bones away from each other and guided them carefully into place. But Tony didn't know that because the moment the sorcerer moved the limb, the Avenger passed out.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Tony woke up shivering. He didn't want to open his eyes, but when he did he saw that he was laying on his side on the stone floor covered in the blanket. His head throbbed so he assumed he passed out and hit in on the floor. That or he was dehydrated and under an enormous about of physical stress. Probably both. He blinked a few times, trying to focus on the black blob in his line of sight. After a moment he realized he was staring at Loki's back, the sorcerer was hunched over muttering words Tony couldn't hear.

Tony sat up slowly, pausing briefly as he felt a dizzy spell hit him. He leaned his back up against the wall to support his tired body. Once upright, he looked down at his left arm, surprised to see it wrapped in what was probably the remainder of the blanket he had torn up. Aw. How sweet. Tony returned his gaze to his cell mate, listening for a moment. But he was Tony Stark, and silence was so overrated.

"What language is that, Severus?" He grinned at his own Harry Potter reference. _Oh my God, he is so Snape! But way better looking. _Tony frowned at himself. _Ignore that thought._

Loki jumped and Tony felt a tweak of pride at startling the God of Mischief. But he didn't pause in his chanting to answer Tony.

That won't do. "I bet it's a made up language. It sounds exactly like gibberish."

"It sounds exactly like Ancient Norse, Midgardian."

"Funny." Tony grinned at his personal victory. He pretended to be silent until Loki started chanting again, the he cleared his throat, "What does it mean?"

"By Asgard, do you _ever _shut up?" Loki rounded on him, rising to his feet so that he towered over the billionaire. "When you sleep, you snore, when you are awake, you talk. I have half a mind to snap your neck right now, if not for risk of your rotting corpse permeating this cell with it's stench." Each word was dripping with malice, but Tony bit back a smile and waited for the tantrum to end.

Then he, keeping his face straight, prodded the already angry bear. Gotta have fun somehow. "My, my, Reindeer Games, you seem a little on edge."

The sorcerer clenched his fists and Tony didn't miss the crackle of green magic that fizzed out as quickly as it appeared. But rather than retorting, the god simply spun around and gracefully plopped down in his previous cross-legged position and began muttering his magic words again.

Tony cracked a smile, "All bark and no bite."

Before the trickster could react the was a loud noise outside of their cell. Both froze and then rose to their feet. Tony swayed slightly but moved to stand next to his enemy. "Maybe it's lunch time, eh?"

Loki didn't respond, he just held up his fists and began chanting again, faster this time. His eyes began to glow creepily and Tony inched away. The crashing noises were coming closer to the door.

"Might want to speed up," Tony looked around but found nothing he could fight with. "Fuck." He hated being defenseless. That was the point of his suit. "Kidnapping is such bullshit."

The thudding stopped right before the door, and then the door swung open. Loki raised his hands defensively but didn't lash out. The light that flooded into their hole was blinding, but as soon as Tony's eyes adjusted, he saw Steve standing in the doorway like a fucking guardian angel

"Jesus, Cap'n, what took you so fucking long?" Tony resisted the urge to hug the man, feeling himself relax.

"Found Stark," Steve muttered into the headset all the Avengers wore. "Please don't use the Lord's name that way," he said, exasperated. Then he appeared to have just noticed Loki standing next to his friend. "Stark, move away!"

Tony rolled his eyes. "Stop barking orders, 'Merica. He's with me." Loki shot Tony an amused look, one eyebrow raised. Tony clicked his tongue, "So where's the rest of the calvary?"

"Fighting Russian thugs," Steve said distractedly, "What do you mean, 'He's with me'?"

Tony sighed, "I'll explain later, Spangles. For now, let's go see if we can help." Steve eyed him incredulously before nodding and disappearing back into the fight outside the doorway. "Coming, Reindeer Games?" Tony paused on his way to the door to glance back at the immobile god.

Loki scoffed, giving him a once-over, "You are hardly in any shape to fight, Midgardian. You should wait here for your friends to return."

Tony bristled. "I think I'll take my chances," he snapped before storming outside into the cavern where his friends were fighting at least 500 Russian mercenaries.

He picked up a rock and threw it at one of the six mercenaries, holding nasty looking clubs, who were closing in on Hawkeye, who was shooting arrows and thus seemingly unaware of the danger behind him. Helpful, right?

All that did was attract their attentions to him. "Oh shit." Tony backed up until he ran into a stalagmite, hissing as he jostled his grinned defiantly, ignoring the odds, "Whatcha waiting for, come get me!" _YOLO. _The thugs charged at him and he ran at them in an attempt to gain any sort of an advantage. As they got closer, he dropped to the ground, sliding on his back and sweeping one of the mercenaries off their feet. He watched the guy fall to the ground, dropping the club near Tony. The billionaire snatched it up and rolled to his feet, swinging with his right hand while holding the left arm protectively to his chest. The club collided with the head of a Russian close to him and he heard the satisfying THWACK before the thug crumpled to the ground. Before Tony could pick off another, a Russian behind him clobbered the genius across his back. Tony unwittingly dropped to his knees, gasping. Before he could catch his breath, another club collided with his right clavicle, and he dropped his weapon. Then a club caught him under his chin, sending him sprawling awkwardly on his back. The room began to swim before his eyes as the Russkies kicked him repeatedly. He tried to curl up to protect himself hopelessly, when he was a club come flying towards his head in what would undoubtedly be a killing blow. Just before it did however, the man when flying out of Tony's darkening vision. He saw a flash of green and everything went black.

xxxxxxxxxx

A/N: Oh noes! Tony isn't so badass when he's sober. hahaha (I bet he wins all bar fights)

Hope it turned out okay! I'll explain more next chapter. For now, you can be as clueless as knocked out Tony. :'D

r 'n r!

Funny story time:

I walk into the library with my mom and she turns to me and says, "You're evil incarnate! when you walked in, the temperature dropped 1 degree!" being silly.

I, the smartass I am, replied "Well I must have some frostgiant in me."

and mom smirks and says, "I can think of a certain frost giant you'd want "in" you."

and I laughed so loud everyone glared.

moral of the story?

my mom is my best friend. XD

lol I rented 3 books on Norse mythology.


	3. Chapter 3: I Can Explain

A/N: -cries- OMG thank you all for your kind reviews ( ) and comments (dA)! For each of you, you get a Loki-shaped cookie. These are from my private stash, so be grateful! tehe

I swear my cat talks to me. She meows when she looks for me, meows when she finds me... -clears throat- so, anyway:

This chapter will clear up some details.

Also, I should have mentioned that this takes place after Avengers...

oh, just read.

:3

[edit: going back, I see so many grammatical errors. I'll have you know that two people proof read these chapters. I hope the errors don't take away from any of you enjoying the story.]

xxxxxxxxxxx

Chapter 3: I Can Explain..

"What do you _mean_? Let's just shoot him in his fucking face!" Clint.

"If you _touch _him-" Thor.

"Hey! Calm down, you two!" Steve.

"Ugh." Tony squinted his eyes open, confused as to why it was so loud and bright._Whyam I so sore?_He rolled over, groaning. All the shouting continued and Tony was sure it was coming from the kitchen on his level of the Tower. "Really?" He whined to himself._Why can't the yell downstairs_? And someone had left his window on the daylight setting.

"_Sir, are you awake now?_"

"No, I am not, Jarvis." He moaned, covering his head with a pillow.

"I didn't know you talked in your sleep, Tony."

The billionaire groaned, "Go away, Bruce." He felt like he got hit by a truck. Make that ten trucks.

"How's your head feeling? I was worried you had a concussion." Banner's gentle voice drifted closer as the man moved from the doorway and over to Tony's bedside.

Tony sighed, removing the pillow and squinting up at his friend. "My head feels like an overused soccer ball. And the rest of me feels like those poor punching bags Steve abuses."

"If you're alive enough to complain, I'll assume you will be fine."

"I'm sure ants complain when they're stepped on." Tony sniffed, indignant.

"Come on, get up. I brewed you coffee."

The injured Avenger sat up, wincing as Bruce walked out the room and into the kitchen.

"Jarvis, what are they shouting about?" Tony inquired as he pulled his robe on. Somehow, someone had washed him, put a cast on his left arm, and changed his clothes. He was in boxers, and, since he didn't know who was in his Tower, he assumed putting on a robe would be smart.

"_They are arguing on how to dispose of the war criminal, Loki Laufeyson, sir._"

Tony wiped his hand over his face. It was way too early for this. Why hadn't the god just run off when he had the chance? "Thanks, Jarvis. Have the sprinklers ready in case they catch anything on fire."

"_Of course, sir._"

He yawned and ambled from his bedroom and down the hall into the kitchen. Bruce was sitting at the table reading the paper and sipping what Tony assumed was tea. Steve and Thor were standing at the other side of the table, Rogers had his hand on Thor's arm in a restraining manner. Clint was leaning, arms crossed, against the wall behind Bruce. He was saying something violent in regards to Loki. When Tony entered nobody seemed to acknowledge him. So he made a bee-line for the coffee pot, pouring himself a cup and adding some creamer and one sugar.

Ah. The simple joy of coffee.

He then turned around, leaning on the counter to listen to the bickering men.

"Clint, we are _not _going to maim the prisoner." Steve had his free hand massaging his temple while he tried to reason with the irate assassin.

"Why not? He escaped Odin's palace. Let's just do him in and give the world a break."

"He did not escape, Barton. I released him after he gave his word to refrain from assaulting Midguard." Thor snapped.

Tony choked and sputtered on his coffee, drawing attention to him. "You let your maniac brother go because he said he'd be good?" Thor narrowed his eyes at the billionaire. "Does daddy know?"

"Man of Iron, you would do well to hold your tongue."

"That's a no." Tony's mouth curved into a mischievous grin. "I'm impressed, big guy. Didn't know you had it in ya to cause trouble."

"I did no such th-"

"Good morning." Tasha strolled into the room wearing sweats and a tight black t-shirt. Damn."Are you quite finished with the subtle shouting match?"

Clint looked at his feet, obviously still perturbed. Thor opened his mouth and shut it angrily, striding out of the room. Steve followed with a muttered "good morning."

Tony laughed, "Way to clear the room, Nat. Did you gargle?"

The woman shot him a glare. "I'm surprised to see you up and about, Stark."

He held up his cup, "I was bribed with coffee." He walked over to sit at the table with Bruce and Natasha joined him. "So. What happened at the fight? And how'd you guys find me?"

"After you were kidnapped we went on red alert. Some witnesses said a Russian man talked you into going with him and so we looked for any reports of an unusual gathering of Russians." She smirked, "Apparently some hicks in southern Illinois were complaining about Russians hanging around their regular caving towns. So we did a little digging and vìola." She fell silent.

"Did you," Tony paused, trying to find some tact but discovered he had none. "Did you see your father?"

Natasha froze, he eyes locking with his with a calculating stare. "My father is dead. He has been for years."

_Well, _this _is awkward_. "The man who interrogated me called himself Ivan Romanoff." Tony sniffed, "Russkie prick broke my arm because I wouldn't tell him where you were."

She hissed softly, leaning forward. "Impossible." Her eyes went dark and thoughtful before she rose to her feet and marched out of the kitchen.

Tony sighed. "Maybe it's me who chases people away."

Bruce chuckled, "Join the club."

Tony flashed him a toothy grin. Then he had an idea. "Jarvis!"

"_Yes, sir?_"

"Are all the Avengers here?"

"_Yes._"

"Please notify them to come to the kitchen at once. Is Loki in a holding room?"

"_Certainly, Mr. Stark. Prisoner Loki is currently resting in a holding cell, yes._"

"Thank you, Jarvis."

Bruce put down his paper, frowning slightly at his friend. "What are you thinking, Tony?"

Tony smirked, "You'll see."

After a 5 minute wait everyone was gathered. Clint and Thor avoided eyecontact and Tasha stared unseeing at the window.

"Morning everyone! Thanks for the rescue it was a bit delayed, but, hey, nobody's perfect."

"Why did you call us here, Stark?" Clint grumbled.

Tony frowned, "Okay, Grumpy Gills, I thought I should ask why we have a sociopathic criminal in my Tower?"

Steve sighed, "We just got back and have him in holding until Fury tells us what to do."

"How'd we catch him?"

They all shifted uneasily for a moment before Bruce quietly said, "He appeared to have exhausted his magic defending you."

Tony's eyebrow shot up. He wasn't surprised, he'd suspected as much by everyone's near-guilty silence. But, hey, he was making a point. "Oh! So you're telling me that the Avengers lock up their allies? Aren't we a pleasure to be around."

Clint bristled, "He's not our _ally_. He's a psychop-" Clint stopped when Steve elbowed him.

"Really? Cause Nat's father seems to disagree. And since when do psychopaths exhaust their sole means of escape in order to save an enemy's life?"

"How should we know?" Clint grumbled.

"Tasha's father?" Steve's brow creased.

"Long story," Tony cleared his throat.

"Can you get to your point?" Natasha snapped.

Tony sighed, "I just wanted to have you all aware before I let Loki out. You can go." Tasha turned and left instantly, seeming not to care.

"What?" Steve, Bruce, and Clint all choked out at the same time.

Tony smiled as Thor gave him an appraising glance. "What? It's _my _Tower."

"You can't make these decisions on your own! Director Fury-"

"Can kiss my ass," Tony cut Steve's argument off. "He's not my boss and this isn't his personal prison. I'm letting Loki out and that's final. Jarv-"

"I will not allow you to let that scheming bag of shit-"

"Clint. He saved my life." Tony slowly rose to his feet. "He deserves a bit of leg room."

Steve's face was stone. "You would risk all of our lives in this way?"

"You honestly think that cell will hold him?" Tony gave Rogers a hard look. "If you do then you're a fool. At least this way he won't be pissed when he breaks out. It's not like I'm releasing him in the streets. Thor can watch him, since the moron let his brother go in the first place."

Thor nodded solemnly. "He will refrain from mischief, Man of Iron."

Steve sighed heavily. "Okay, Stark. But if this goes bad, it's on your head." Then the soldier strode stiffly out of the room.

Clint bared his teeth. "I don't like this, Tony." His eyes glittered with threats.

"Hey, he threw me out a window. If I can look past that, you can look past the mind control." Cause that's totally the same concept. "It's only a temporary deal. Look, if he tries anything you can be the first to shoot, okay?" The assassin grunted in consent, clearly still upset. "Just trust me on this."

With that, Tony stalked out of the room to put some decent clothes on, leaving three otherwise perturbed friends behind him. When he was in comfy jeans and his favourite vintage Black Sabbath shirt, he walked into the elevator that would take him to the basement where the holding cells, which were built for Bruce, were.

On the journey to the basement he began to fidget, wondering what possessed him to decided to let a murdering, manipulative prick out of prison. Albeit, a prison which can't hold him. But at least it gave the illusion of security. This latest act of the invincible Tony Stark may not be his smartest._But he saved my life_, the genius sighed. _Underneath all that glory-hunting and postulating, there must be some good. _Right? The elevator slowed to a stop, almost like it was responding to his musings. Straightening his posture, "Okay, let's do this." Tony strutted out of into the big lab-like chamber which held the containment room. There was really only one. Like he said, this wasn't a prison.

He walked past the monitor equipment that was all turned off and approached the reinforced glass wall he peered in at the bare, white room. All that was in it was a metal bed nailed to the floor. Curled up into a ball on that bed was Loki, his back to the window and his chest rising and falling with the steady rhythm of slumber. For once, Tony stood quietly, holding his breath at the unexpected desire to not disturb the god. _What is wrong with me? _He sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"How long were you planning on staring at me?" Loki's soft voice was barely audible and laced with exhaustion.

Tony smirked, irked at his inability to spy effectively and chalked it up to Loki's perceptive skills rather than his own shortcomings. "I see you're awake."

"How observant." The snide comment seemed half-hearted.

Tony raised an eyebrow. "How're you holding up?" What? He can be polite.

"Oh, just marvelously. Being in captivity is one of my many hobbies." Dry sarcasm. Much better.

The genius pressed the button which opened the cell door, seeing the god stiffen and slowly sit up, his raven hair messy and his green eyes narrowed with a cautious mistrust.

"Sorry to tear you away from your hobby, but I'm actually here to break you out." He couldn't keep the smug Stark-quality smirk off his face.

Loki blinked, a shocked disbelieving look on his face. It was quickly replaced with a glare of pure anger. "Do not_toy_with me, mortal. You expect me to believe that your leader would allow you to release me after the chaos I wreaked upon your world; after the lives I took?" His voice shook and Tony wasn't sure if it was regret or anger lacing the sorcerer's heated words. "Do not take me for a fool! It would do you well not to mistake my placidity for weakness." He was on his feet now, taking a threatening step towards the billionaire.

Tony sighed, exasperated. "Loki-"

"If I gave you the impression that I was of the humour to be-"

"_Loki._"

The god opened and closed his mouth, giving Tony a surprised look. "Did you just interrupt me?"

Tony wiped his hand over his face."For fucks sake, would you just let me speak?"

Loki's eyes narrowed, "You have gall, Midgardian."

Tony rolled his eyes, striding into the cell and leaning against the wall in a suave movement. "Why else would I be breaking you out of my own prison without permission? Not that I actually listen."_What can I say? Rebellion keeps my life fun._

The trickster's smile had a wicked edge as he approached the suitless man who was no doubt in enormous danger, yet didn't seem to give half a shit as he berated his prisoner. "You seem to forget who I am. I hardly needed any help. For I am-"

"A god, yes. But you're also an injured god who is fresh out of mystical mojo." Tony pushed himself upright, looking sternly into the captivating green gaze.

Loki growled softly, now much too close than should be considered safe. "My magic will return soon."

Tony couldn't help but poke the beast. It was in his nature-like putting himself consistently into mortal danger was in his blood. But in this situation all he wanted to do was close the distance between those tight-drawn lips and himself. It took all his will not to grab Loki's shirt and pull him roughly against himself, running a hand down his chest until he reached the-_What is wrong with me? _"Too bad you wasted it all on saving a pathetic mortal, huh?" Tony tried to ignore how husky his voice sounded, taking a slight step back from the god and looking away. _You're sex-on-wheels, aren't you, Stark? _he spat at himself mentally.

He heard a slight sigh and went rigid as the trickster took Tony's chin in a cold, yet gentle grip, tilting the billionaire's head up until their eyes met again. "There is a purpose to everything I do," the words were hushed, spoken so softly that Tony wasn't even sure he heard them. But he didn't care, really. He was focused on the sadness he saw deep within the stare holding him captive. It was a sadness he could relate to, a fragility he, too, buried inside.

The sound of a bowstring being pulled tight caused the two men to jump. Loki had his back angled at the doorway, so to anyone who would chance upon this scene, it would look as though the god had Tony cornered. Of course, Tony peaked at the two men-Clint and Thor-who were standing in the doorway. The sound of closing elevator doors told him they had just happened upon the scene._How fortunate._

"Put the bow down, Legolas," he snapped, pushing Loki to the side and maneuvering himself so he was in the line of fire.

Clint didn't so much as blink.

Thor cleared his throat, "What is going on here?"

Tony sighed. "I had a splinter," he held up his hand and wiggled a finger. "See? All better, thanks pal." He shot Loki a smile and saw the god's eyes were twinkling with amusement, though his face was straight.

"I dare say, that was the worst lie-"

"Clint, unhitch that arrow before you poke somebody's eye out."

"Um, that was my plan, if you could move a tiny bit left..."

"Clint," this time Thor growled, glaring down at the assassin. Tony felt Loki stiffen beside him at th me sound of the other god's voice. He shot the trickster a curious glance and saw him glaring daggers at his brother. I thought Thor broke him out of Asgard?

Barton sighed, "Fine," he snapped, unhitching the arrow and angrily stalking back into the observatory to slump into a chair. He appeared relaxed, but Tony could tell the man was watching their every move.

Thor stepped more into the room. "Loki," he started, "Brother, I-" but the other god cut him off.

"We are not _brothers_, Odinson." his voice was sharp, but Tony heard the exasperation, like the trickster knew he was fighting a losing battle.

Thor balked, a frown creasing his brow. But he didn't argue. "How did you end up with the Russians? When I released you from your prison you agreed to come with me to Midgard. Yet you disappeared and I feared the worst."

Loki stepped forward and Tony moved sideways so he could see their faces. The liesmith's face was twisted into a wry smile. "The worst being what, exactly? My death or my freedom?" Before Thor could reply, Loki's face went expressionless. "How long did it take you, I wonder, to convince your _precious _father to confine me to Midgard? No doubt under your astute observation." His tone was fast becoming venomous. "How angry was he when I disappeared the moment we arrived?" The two gods had moved until they were merely a foot away from each other.

"Brother..." Thor trailed off, clearly unable to refute the veiled accusations as they struck true.

Loki suddenly lashed out, as fast as a snake he shoved the thunder god away from himself and into the glass wall, causing a dozen hairline cracks to form along the pane. "_I am not your brother! _I_am not!_...I never was." Tony jumped at the movement and was shocked at the underlying agony he heard in the mischievous god's voice. " Do not use such a term a moster, like myself, hardly deserves out of demented and ill-placed pity." The trickster's words were angry and they tore from his lips like a rehearsed monologue. Tony's heart twinged sympathetically, but he stayed out of the squabble. He glanced at Clint, where the man was sitting he had a perfect angle, and their eyes met, both sharing a silent look that said _damn_.

"Loki, you are _no t_a monster!" Thor straightened his posture, holding his shoulder in pain. He was panting slightly. "I do not care what you say, you will _always _be my brother."

"_Leave me be_!" Loki screeched, his hands in trembling fists and his chest heaving with rage.

Thor's face twisted with a pained expression and he hesitated before striding out of the cell, shoulders drawn tense with anger. He ignored the elevator and instead stalked into the stairway. Clint silently followed, and Tony flinched as he heard the thunder god storming up the stairs._So much for Thor watching Loki_, he grumbled stood there watching the god before him clench and unclench his fists, taking deep breaths until his haggard breathing slowed to normal.

"He sure pushes your buttons."

Loki's eyes snapped to him as though he'd forgotten Tony's presence. He stared at him for a moment, green orbs unreadable as they locked with brown. When the god slowly blinked and looked at the floor, Tony felt as though he passed a test.

"What do you want, Stark." The voice was quiet again, once more weighed with exhaustion. Tony felt the question meant more than its apparent meaning. The god knew that without his magic he was essentially at the Avengers' mercy. Tony took the question to be almost a permission, a resignation to whatever Tony chose to do to the sorcerer. For some reason that annoyed the billionaire. Where was the defiant Loki who constantly threatened him?

"Well, for one, I want to get you out of those clothes," he paused for a moment to see the god giving him a wary, almost amused look. "And into something not covered on blood."_Like my bed_. He mentally kicked himself. "Then I suppose I should let you get some rest somewhere less," he glanced at the pillowless, metal bed, "here." He met the sorcerer's uncertain gaze. "C'mon, Rock of Ages." He motioned for the god to followed as he led him from the cell.

xxxxxxxxxxx

A/N: okay, I think that's a long enough chapter. No? Yes? Too bad. XD

I have to stop or there will be nothing left for you guys in chapter 4. Honestly, I can't seem to stop writing this story. I have an app on my phone and I literally write every chance I get. This chappy took so long cause I went out with some friends. We saw Avengers (again) in the drive-in. It was just as good. Cause sexy Loki was in it! Hahaha

Do you guys want me to start replying to reviews at the beginning of each chapter? I know a lot of authors do that. Just PM me if you have an urge to strike up a conversation...I am a particularly friendly person. :D

Go read OpheliaxEternal's stories! That there is one talented author. -grins-

No funny story today.

gods, I am so tired.


	4. Chapter 4: Guess What?

A/N: Due to an overwhelming positive response to the last chapter, I am assuming I have not screwed up terribly yet. However, take this time to go back and reread what Tony says to the Avengers when he gathers them. Because my app deleted part of the sentence so I had to fix that...

I apologize beforehand for how random this chapter gets.

I was very distracted.

Song: Set It On Fire by My Darkest Days

[this song makes me giggle.]

Disclaimer: I do not own these people, to my shame. However, I do own the sexy Russians. :P

Spelling can just kiss my ass. XD

Steve: "That's not a very ladylike thing to say, Miss Plum."

You can kiss my ass, too, Rogers.

(My ass is a whore.)

Loki: "Speaking of whores." -gives Tony a pointed look-

Tony: "Isn't that sweet of you~"

Loki: ...

READ!

xxxxxxxxxxx

Chapter 4: Guess What?

The sparks from the welder fizzed near Tony's eyes, giving him a slight headache. The billionaire blinked a few times, shifting in his seat. He didn't usually sit while working, but after the beating he'd received, the idea of standing for hours was hardly appealing. Neither was working on his Iron Man suit, for that matter. Tony sighed, sitting back in his chair and putting down the welder he was using on his suit. He just couldn't work-his mind kept straying to the petulant god curled up on his bed.

When the billionaire had taken the trickster upstairs, after a bit of persuasion to get him into the elevator, the god had showered and changed into some of Tony's sweat pants. Tony had seen to the worst wounds again, which hadn't seemed to heal at all, and when he'd left the room to fetch some water he had come back through to see Loki had fallen asleep on his bed. The billionaire had smiled, amused at how vulnerable the trickster was and resisted the all too tempting notion of taking a blackmail worthy picture of the peaceful look on the sleeping man's face. After he had left the mischief-maker, he'd assembled the Avengers to debrief them as a group on what happened to him. It was a brief experience, and he'd scuttled away to his lab as soon as he could, escaping the tension and piercing glares.

It was a hopeless endeavour, working in the lab. Loki was dominating his mind, like a puzzle he couldn't figure out.

Tony sighed again, lifting the welding visor off and putting it on the table next to the welder. He had to control his thoughts. _I'm just curious about him, that's why he's on my mind. It's not every day you have a Norse god in your bedroom. On your bed. With no shirt on_.

"Jesus." Tony leaped to his feet, shaking his head to clear it.

"_Yes, sir?_"

"I said Jesus, not Jarvis, Jarvis." He wiped his hand over his face.

"_Ah. My apologies._"

Tony stared down at the welder, his eyes drifting to his cast. He wrinkled his nose, imagining how ridiculous he'd look in his suit and seriously considering taking the blasted casing off. But he resisted the urge, sitting down with an exasperated "oof." He gave the welder an annoyed glare, as if it were the tool's fault that he could barely maneuver with a broken arm, or that the tool was also somehow responsible for the dangerous thoughts twisting in his mind. _I need to distract myself. _He picked up the visor and put it back on his head. A moment later, however, there was a knock at the glass door which led to his lab. He looked up and saw Bruce waving, a hesitant smile on his lips and a beer in each hand.

Tony rearranged the visor so it rested on the top of his head, motioning for the fellow scientist to come in. The billionaire scrambled to clean off another stool, so that Banner would have a place to sit.

"Hey Brucy, what brings you to my secret lair?" He'd been down there for hours. Was it dark out yet?

"You slithered off and I began to worry. It's not normal for you not to be skipping around the tower, annoying our teammates." The scientist sat on the stool, handing Tony a cold beer which was already opened. Bruce was the only other permanent resident of Stark Tower-or "Avenger's Tower" as it was the homebase for the renegade troop. Tony liked his company, much more than the company of his other comrades. _Sometimes it's nice to have a fellow intellectual around._

"Yeah, well I didn't think I'd have too warm of a welcome right now. S'good idea to let the smoke settle." Tony grinned a bit, remembering the reaction from his latest stunt and the glares during his recounting of his kidnapping.

Bruce sipped at his beer, being a very cautious drinker. Tony respected that, but he himself found consuming alcohol to be a fucking brilliant past time. "I was curious about that," the man rolled his bottle between his hands, distractedly. "What possessed you to make such a move?" Tony could hear what Bruce was trying to say, _"This is stupid, even for you," _but he stood by his choice.

The billionaire shrugged slightly. "The guy deserved a break. I mean, he's been a prisoner for, what, six months? "_Has it really been that long?_" Thor assured us he was... reprimanded in Asgard. They must have let him out for a reason."

Bruce frowned, his brows drawing in uncertainly. "Does he deserve a break? Look at what he did last time... the lives he took."

Tony stiffened, but forced himself not to snap defensively. This was _Bruce_. Bruce understood him. "We are all guilty of taking lives, in one way or another." His voice was quiet, a haunted sadness creeping into it. "Who are we, flawed as we are, to judge someone like Loki?" _He and I are not much different at all._

The scientist's eyes locked with the man across from him and Tony saw a glint of respect within them. "I see." He smiled slightly. "What are your intentions? Surely Thor will have to explain to us what exactly transpired on Asgard." Bruce took another sip of his beer. "This is the most we've seen of him since Loki's capture."

Tony smiled back, taking a longer drink of his own beer. "I don't know." The billionaire chuckled. "I threw the ball into Loki's court with this move. He'll either run or stick around." He made a face, "There's also Fury to deal with. That lying, one-eyed menace will undoubtedly throw quite the hissy fit."

Bruce smirked, "I've got your back with this." He sighed. After a shared moment of quiet companionship, he mused, "I wonder if those Russians will stir up trouble again."

"No doubt they will."

"Did you ever figure out what they wanted? You mentioned that they somehow dampened Loki's magic."

"I couldn't get anything out of them, Bruce." Tony sighed, setting down his drink and rubbing his forehead. "Maybe I can ask Loki when he finishes napping."

The scientist stood up, and Tony looked up at the movement. "I think I'll go fiddle with some theories I've been working on in regards to magic dampening." He smiled. "Have you called Pepper yet?"

Tony froze, a feeling of _oh shit _running through him. "I suppose saying I hadn't even thought to is a bad response."

His friend laughed, "I'm not the one you have to worry about, Anthony. But, uh, I advise not telling _her _that." With that the scientist left the billionaire alone.

Tony stared after Banner, a feeling of dread curling in his stomach. He was a self-proclaimed asshole, yes, but this was low, even for him. _I've just spent hours thinking about someone other than my girlfriend. _He sighed, _Cut yourself some slack, it's been a long 48 hours. It's not like you cheated on her. _He shook his head violently to dispel sudden images of what exactly cheating on her with Loki would look like. It's still cheating to imagine it. "This is fucked up. Jarvis!"

"_I am assuming you meant to call me this time?_" Who taught his AI to be so snotty?_... Don't answer that._

"Very funny. Has Miss Potts rung me lately?"

"_Exactly 12 times, sir_."

"And I wasn't informed because...?" Shit, shit, shit.

"_You were asleep, Mr. Stark. When I tried to bring it up you informed me you were still asleep_."

Tony facepalmed, tensing up with exasperation, "Jarvis, if I _told _you- you know what? Nevermind."_Blasted computer. _"Please ring Miss Potts."

"_Right away, sir._"

Tony sighed as he heard the phone ringing. Nobody picked up. Which was unusual because Pepper made it a point to answer after he almost died in the fight against Loki's creepy alien army. "Hang up, J." The billionaire finished his beer, running his hand over his face. _Guess I should go upstairs, huh?_

Once more placing the welding visor on the table, Tony stood and walked to the stairway Bruce had just taken, trudging his way back into the line of fire.

Everyone was in the common room on his level of the Tower. Why? Probably because they were all pissed off about Tony's stunt still. That or they just didn't want to leave the floor Loki was on. Paranoia can make even the most estranged people come together. Whatever the reason, they were all playing Scrabble, a sight which terrified Tony, because he didn't know where they got the Scrabble.

"Hey homies. Miss me?"

Every gaze turned to him as he casually strolled in and plopped down next to Bruce, making a concerned face at the scientist's letters even though they were good.

Bruce raised an amused eyebrow at him, "Hello."

Thor nodded a greeting, still looking depressed from earlier.

Steve had a disapproving expression, "Where have you been?"

"Sorry, but isn't this is my house?" Tony reached over and snagged on of the chips from the bowl closest to him, which happened to be Steve's bowl.

Clint was laying down a word on the board. The word was 'careful' and Tony didn't miss the glance from the assassin as he put it down.

Natasha was eating a box of Nilla waffers, watching the interactions with a smirk on her face.

"Just because it's your house doesn't mean you can sulk off. With that _thing _roaming our headquarters we should all stick together." Steve's stare could have melted metal and Tony was grateful the super soldier didn't have heat-vision. Tony saw Thor stiffen at Captain's words and decided to speak before the Asgardian challenged anyone to duel for his brother's honour.

"Don't talk about Bruce that way!" He laughed, getting a halfhearted elbow from the scientist. "Seriously, Is that why you're all huddled in my lounge?" Tony ate another chip. "That's a bit childish for a group of superheroes."

Everyone but Thor shifted uneasily, knowing he was right._No surprise there._

"Would you rather us brood alone in our rooms," Tasha interjected. "At least this way we're interacting."

"Yaay." Clint flinched when Tasha slapped him on his arm.

Tony smiled, about to retort when the dinging of elevator in the kitchen interrupted him. He jumped to his feet, _The only person Jarvis wouldn't have alerted me of is_- "Pepper."

"Anthony Stark, I am beyond mad at you! You get _kidnapped _and rescued and then you don't return my calls for _six hours_!"

"Pepp, look, I'm sorry-"

"And I fly all the way out here from D.C. to find you fully awake and playing Scrabble! Unbelievable! Do you care for no one but yourself and your," she shot the startled Avengers a glare, "_friends_?"

"Maybe we go somewhere more private to talk about this." Tony flinched at her glare, _Great. Today must be Get-Pissed-At-Tony Day._

Pepper huffed, turning heel before storming off towards his bedroom.

Bedroom. _Oh shit_. "Pepper, wait!" He ran in front of her. "How about the kitchen instead? It's closer."

Pepper's hands went to her hips, eyes narrowing. "Why?"

"Yeah, what's wrong with talking in your bedroom, Tony?" Natasha was giggling, but she tried to use a serious tone when asking.

Tony shot her a vicious glare. "Nothing is wrong-"

"Good." Pepper shoved past him and continued her walk down the hall.

"Pepper!" He ran after her again, even though he couldn't see the common room anymore, he could hear Clint and Natasha cackling while Steve and Bruce talked in hushed tones.

Tony stood glued in his place as Pepper opened his bedroom door, flipping on the light. _Today is so not my day. _She made a strangled noise in her throat and Tony peaked around her. All she must have seen was Loki's oddly feminine back and his long black hair before she turned off the light and quickly shut the door. She stood there a moment before rounding on Tony.

"There is someone in your_bed_, Tony!"

_God help me. _"Not just anyone-"

"Is that the reason you didn't return my calls so long? To put that woman to bed?" Her words were laced with rage and betrayal. "I thought your playboy days were over!" Her eyes filled with tears.

"Pepper, listen, he-it's not what you think, I-"

"He? _He_? Oh, Tony, this is just _rich_. Not only are you replacing me, but with with a man!"

"Nobody's being replaced, Pepp, just lis-"

"No, Tony. I'm done with your lies. It's over." She was shaking with rage, angry tears streaming down her cheeks. "And _you_," she looked over Tony's shoulder and he followed her gaze to see everyone peaking down the hall at them, Tasha and Clint barely suppressing laughter while Bruce, Steve, and Thor stared wide-eyed at the couple. The fights weren't anything new-Tony and Pepper had been fighting for the past six months-but this fight was a whole misunderstanding. "You all just let him do this? I counted on you guys. I thought of you as friends."

"Pepp, they didn't have anything to do with this."

Pepper just screamed, a wordless scream, before stalking back towards the elevator. The other Avengers backed away quickly when she passed them but Tony ran after her.

He grabbed her arm, "Pepper."

"_Don't touch me_!" She jerked away and stomped into the elevator, sobbing. Steve ran in after her, giving Tony a sympathetic look as the doors shut.

Tony turned around, slumping his back against the door. He just lost his girlfriend. Over something so silly. And Steve had run after her. Why hadn't he been the one to jump in the elevator? What held him back?

Tasha and Clint were rolling on the ground laughing, trying to speak but crumbling into incoherent giggles each attempt. Thor stared at them and back at Tony, speechless. Bruce walked over and patted Tony's shoulder comfortingly.

"She'll come around, Tony." The scientist sighed, "I'm sure Steve will calm her down."

Tony scoffed, "I'm sure," he said bitterly, then sighed, placing his hand over Bruce's. "Thank you." The other man nodded before walking over to fridge, pouring himself V8.

Tony stared at the ground, wallowing in the unfairness, yet respecting the irony, of the situation. _The one time I'm actually faithful, huh?_

Suddenly he felt the room stiffen and Tasha and Clint fell silent, and the billionaire looked up. Loki was standing in the hallway opening, his hair messy, and a yawn on his lips. He was still shirtless and Tony's sweats hung low on his waste, teasing the imagination along with the barely concealing bandages. Tony had to remind himself to breathe when the sorcerer's green gaze fell on him. There was just something captivating about the way he seemed to see right through everyone he looked at. A frown creased his brow as he looked around at the people in the room. Tony watched Loki run a hand through his raven hair and distractingly wondered what it would be like to do the same.

"Loki," Thor's voice was hoarse and he took a step towards his brother.

As if on cue, Clint and Tasha lept to their feet, taking fighting stances. Bruce simply continued to sip his V8, not feeling threatened for obvious reasons. But Loki ignored the assassins and his brother, letting his green stare slide over everyone in the kitchen before it once more rested on Tony. This time, the gaze was much less sleep-ladden now and twinkled with mischief.

"We have matters to discuss, Anthony Stark." Tony sucked in a breath, straightening and pushing himself off the elevator door. He could handle half-dead Loki. But nearly-healed Loki was a different story.

"Don't call me Anthony. Only my dad and pissed off girlfriends can do that. And since the latter is dead and Pepper just left, you don't fall into either category." When in doubt, be a smartass.

The corner of Loki's mouth twitched but he didn't smile. "I see your enthusiasm for flippancy never diminishes." The sorcerer strode into the kitchen and sat in a chair which allowed him to see everyone in the room. Clint and Natasha followed his every move with their eyes and Thor just stared at him intently, like a dog waiting for it's owner to acknowledge it.

Tony grinned, watching his friends. His eyes met Bruce's and the scientist smiled calmly back. "Why don't you kids go finish your game while the grown ups have a chat."

Clint shot him a glare before returning to eye Loki with hatred on his face, "No way."

Tasha relaxed a bit, "What if he knows something more about Ivan? I want to hear this."

Bruce just sipped his V8 quietly, clearly voting to stay.

Thor tightened his jaw, never taking his eyes off his brother, who was idly picking at the strings on his bandages. "I have many questions which need answers."

"Ah, but if one finds the answers to all that he wonders about, what will he have left to drive his curiosity?" Loki's eyes finally met the Thunder god's eager blue stare.

Tony rolled his eyes, "Okay, no philosophical bullshit please. We all know what happened the last time you talked philosophy, Loki." _Look at me. _Maybe he was selfish-okay, he was-maybe he was jealous, but whatever the reason, Tony couldn't help the thrill that ran down his spine when Loki snapped his gaze back to the billionaire, a smile twisting those thin lips-_those lips could seduce a nun_. Tony had to look away when Loki's tongue shot out and licked the very lips the genius had just been ogling. He mentally kicked himself, _Down, boy. What is wrong with me? Maybe Pepper was right to be so upset._

"Tony," Bruce's voice snapped him back to reality and he realized he'd missed whatever the scientist had just said. "You should probably feed your prisoner."

Tony flushed slightly, _What am I, a schoolgirl? Don't forget who he is, Stark. _"Right. But I'm fresh out of orphan meat, so..."

Clint let out a laugh and Natasha elbowed him, but she was smiling. Bruce raised an eyebrow and Thor shot him a disapproving glance. Loki, however, didn't miss a beat. "Drats. And here I have been craving that for months." No one missed Thor's annoyed sigh.

Tony flashed the sorcerer a brilliant smile, impressed. _Aha, a sense of humor. _Maybe nearly-healed Loki wasn't so bad after all. The billionaire went to the cupboard and retrieved the Trix cereal box. _Oh the irony. _When he set a bowl of the cereal in front of Loki, he didn't miss the cautious stare the god gave the bowl. He watched the trickster pick up spoon and swirl it in the mix of fake fruit sugar shapes and milk. Huffing, Loki sat back, clearly undecided on whether he really wanted that in his body. _Who would have guessed, a picky prince._

Just then the elevator dinged and Steve stepped into the room, freezing like a deer-in-the-headlights when he took in the scene. Tony bit back a chuckle.

"Welcome back, Capsicle."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A/N: MWHAHAHAHA! CLIFFHANGERS! Lol I felt this chapter was really short, but it's very busy! So I wanted to wait until next chapter to deal with the Loki-interrogation and Fury, etc. The Russians will be coming back soon... very soon. Maybe. :I lol

Silly Loki, Trix are for kids. :

^ I came up with that and then like ten minutes later I read a variation of it in a fanfic. hahaha, so I did not use it in the chapter.

Random Story Time:

So I was totally trying to pull a Sebastian Michaelis (for those of you poor people who do not know who he is, watch the anime Kuroshitsuji) and clean, do laundry, cook dinner, and write this chapter at the same time. It went so well, that I ended up almost burning the rice and setting the cast-iron griddle on fire. TT_TT You guys better love me.

I do so every love you all. Your comments are like chocolate.

I am a woman and every woman needs chocolate.

So gimme some feeds! R & R~~~


	5. Chapter 5: title too long hahaha

A/N:

Guys. I am so grateful to all of you who comment/review! Because, well, it really means so much. -hugs-

I know it took me forever to post this. With the holidays, a lot has been going on. Thank you yo everyone sticking around. I love you guys.

To show my gratitude, here is another chapter.

(One of my closest and best friends just graduated Basic on the 29th. I'm so proud of her. -wipes eyes-)

Also, I just signed up for college classes! Aug 20 is when I start my journey towards my biochem major and my eventual life as a psychiatrist (after med school). So fanfics will be my only relief from the aches real life.

follow this link: LokiMyLove*deviantart*com/journal/Important-July-Notices-311879419#/d55ec1a and write Tom a letter! lol replace the *'s with .'s.

xxxxxxxxxx

Chapter 5: Genius, Playboy, Billionaire, Philanthropist...Right?

"Damn it, I-you-fucking..." The assassin let out a frustrated sound. "Just answer our questions!" Clint slammed his fist on the table, rising out of his seat to glare at Loki.

It had been three hours, and still they knew nothing. The trickster had explained that the Russians captured him using a magic-dampening baton, but he wouldn't say what they did to him; it was like he was dancing around the explanation and he seemed to enjoy frustrating Hawkeye to no end.

Tony just sat there watching the entire spectacle. He tried to stay focused, but he couldn't help sneaking the trickster a glance out the corner of his eye, watching the god smirk and weave more half-truths with every question asked. It was so obvious that Loki was pulling at all of their strings. _God of Mischief. Duh._

Steve sighed and pushed on Clint's shoulder until he sat down. "Calm down, Barton." He shot Loki a glare. "We must not be asking the right questions."

Thor sat back, sighing, "He will not talk unless it suits him to do so."

Tony leaned forward in his seat, an idea forming in his head. "Why don't we play a game."

Thor scoffed at him, "Are we children, Son of Stark?"

"You mean like monopoly?" Tasha raised an eyebrow at him.

Tony smiled coldly before turning his gaze to Loki; the trickster was watching him with a calculated expression. "Truth or Dare."

Clint laughed mockingly, throwing his hands up. "Really? You can't honestly expect _Loki_-"

"I accept." Everybody froze and looked at the raven-haired sorcerer. He leaned forward towards Tony, a sinister smile on his lips. "What are the rules, Midgardian?"

A thrill of success ran through the billionaire. He jumped up and ran to the recycle bin and pulled out an empty beer bottle. Then he stopped buy the fridge and pulled out a tray of 50 jello-shots. They were cherry. He walked back to the table and set the bottle on it's side, and the tray in front of Bruce.

"Okay. This is Truth or Dare, Stark style. It's copyrighted." He grinned, motioning to the bottle. "This is the game piece." He looked at everyone's expressions. Thor and Steve were concentrated, Tasha was smirking and whispering to Clint. Bruce was giving him a confused look, and Loki just gave him a blank stare. "You spin it when it's your turn. Whomever it lands on has to pick truth or dare. They either have to commit to the dare or take a shot. But the truth has to be answered, cause I only have 50 shots. And this vodka is specially made." He winked at the soldier.

Steve wiped his hand over his face, letting out a long sigh, "Tony, we are not-"

"C'mon, Capsicle. Trust me." Tasha scoffed at Tony's confident words.

Loki eyed the bottle curiously, "Who begins this tournament of truths?"

Tony grinned at the eagerness of the Asgardian. "We can flip a coin."

Steve groaned, "I'll go first."

Clint threw up his hands dramatically, "No fair, Captain!"

Everyone paused awkwardly, giving each other hesitant looks. Except for Bruce, Tony, and Loki, who were probably making the same face of _really? _as they watched the team of adults fight over who went first.

Tony sighed, slamming down his hands which caused the petulant Avengers to jump. "O-kay, since we're all so tense, new rule! Everyone takes two shots!" He motioned to the tray in front of Bruce. They all gingerly took out two shots-even Banner, who gave Tony a disapproving glance, took two. The billionaire promptly inhaled the two shots in his hands.

Steve wrinkled his nose at Tony's grin as the genius flashed a smile, not even reacting to the vodka he had just inhaled. "That can not be natural," the soldier shuddered as he followed Tony's example

Tony just laughed as he watched his friends choke and swallow the disturbing shots.

Loki grimaced and looked back at the two empty cups, "Midgardians alcoholic beverages are are excessively saccharine," he muttered.

"Is it not odd, brother, how these drinks have changed over the millenia?" Thor boomed, a lopsided grin on his face as he comiserated with the fellow foriegner.

Loki's eyes flashed but rather than his customary retort, he scoffed. "It is hard to imagine anyone could become remotely intoxicated from such a trifle."

Tony grinned wickedly at his friends-and respective enemy-and watched their eyes slowly brightening with the buzz of the vodka in their bodies. "Just wait for it."

...

And hour later, the shots were gone and there were empty beer bottles covering the floor. The original bottle lay forgotten on the table, surrounded by empty jello cups, as the Avengers and company were now in their own little worlds.

Everyone was utterly wasted, but only Tony seemed to know what was happening-being an experienced drunk and all. He was slumped in his chair, beer in hand, laughing uncontrollably as Clint and Tasha made out. They were not dared to, since the game was long forgotten, but he was sure they would claim so when the alcohol wore off. Cap and Thor were on the floor, sprawled side-by-side and snoring, a situation that happened after they tried to spar and tripped. Bruce, being possibly the least drunk, was leaning shoulder-to-shoulder with Loki and the two were arguing about the ability to dampen magic. Tony looked over and tried in vain to follow the conversation, but he found it hard to see or hear more that Loki's furled brow and his occasional toothy laugh. He was so breathtaking. Tony wanted nothing more than to watch him laugh all day, feeling a strange tugging in his heart. _I must be so drunk._

"I'm just, I jus' wanna say, _Loooki_, that your magical fairy powers are...like...stupid. Compared to th'Other Guy." Bruce stumbled over his words, and Tony reflected briefly that the scientist's tongue must be swollen a bit due to dehydration.

The drunken words clearly struck Loki's funny bone, and the god flung his head back in laughter, consequently bumping it on the counter and promptly lost his mirth. He leaped to his feet, swearing in a foreign tongue while clutching his head. Bruce was grinning stupidly at the scene and Tony smiled slightly at the outburst.

If there was one thing he'd learned in his life, it was that anger and pain were the purest expressions anyone ever showed. Anger was so instinctual and lacked dishonesty, and pain was all too involuntary. Seeing Loki rubbing his head petulantly was such an honest, _human _expression of discomfort that it warmed the billionaire's heart and reminded him that the troublesome prince wasn't quite as dead and aloof on the inside as he let on.

Loki looked over and caught his eye. Tony's smile widened into a mischievous grin at the glare he got from the sorcerer.

"Don't hit your head too hard, Reindeer Games, or you'll lose whatever sanity you've left."

He bared his teeth at Tony in a mockery of a smile, "Careful, Stark, I hardly have the patience or self control to resist the allure of ending your pathetic existence."

_Oh, ouch. _Tony's grin widened even more, and he figured by now he must resemble the Cheshire cat. He stood, put down his beer, and moved so he was nearly a foot in front of the god, undoubtedly too drunk to care what danger he was in. He purred huskily, "I love it when you talk sadomasochism to me."Loki's face flushed, as he was a well-read individual and no doubt had some clue as to what the billionaire meant. His outraged expression was enough to make Tony break down in laughter, joined by Bruce-who was more cackling maniacally because he was drunk.

"Stop laughing at once!" That only made the genius laugh harder. "Damn you, Tony, I swear by Yggdrasil I will sew your mouth-"

Maybe it was the alcohol, or his daredevil mentality. Or maybe it was the simple fact he was Tony fucking Stark and self control was never his forte.

Whatever the reason, it didn't matter.

Seeing the god so flustered and angry was _such a turn-on_; his hair still messy, green eyes flashing, cheeks flushed. Tony didn't even think twice before he leaned in and kissed the sorcerer, cutting him off mid-threat. At first Loki went still, his body rigid, eyes wide with surprise. But Tony smiled against the motionless lips, tugging on the bottom lip with his teeth. He slowly wrapped his arms around the immortal, pulling their body's flush together. He felt Loki shudder and saw his eyes slide shut before the god's lips moved against his own, parting slightly to allow the billionaire entrance. Tony took up the offer, sliding his tongue into the other man's mouth in an experienced motion, tangling tongues and running his hand down to Loki's ass, gripping it. He backed the god against the counter, the motion rubbing their groins together, and Tony smiled as Loki moaned softly into the kiss. Tony's casted arm was still wrapped around to the sorcerer's back and his free hand moved from Loki's ass and tangled in the silky black hair he had longed to touch, tugging the god's head back, he broke the kiss so he could focus on sucking and nipping at his neck. His tongue traced circles over the pulsing artery at the base of the trickster's neck, eliciting a gasp followed by another shameless moan. He felt Loki's fingers thread through his hair, holding his head in place. Tony hummed in amusement and suckled teasingly at the god's neck, trailing kisses higher until he reclaimed Loki's mouth in a fervent kiss.

Suddenly the sound of someone clearing their throat behind the two caused them both to freeze and jump apart, panting shallowly. Tony spun around and saw Bruce straddling the back of the chair he was on.

"You two're gonna regret that when you're sober, ya know?"

Tony looked away and wiped his mouth, grinning lopsidedly at the god he had just been necking with. "I doubt that." Neither of them were drunk enough to _not _know what they were doing. The mischief god smiled wryly, looking down. They were both breathing hard still. The three of them jumped when there was a sudden crash.

Clint and Tasha, who were making out this entire time, fell over with the single chair they were sharing. The both groaned, holding their heads in their hands. Steve and Thor jerked awake at the sound. The four of them looked around in disorientation and Tony sighed.

"Okay, everyone. Bedtime." He clapped twice, smirking as everyone flinched. "Shoo, scat." They all moaned in unison, picking themselves up off the floor slowly and stumbling as a group towards the elevator.

Tony looked at Bruce who was still grinning stupidly. "C'mon Brucy-boy. Off to bed."

The scientist wrinkled his nose at the genius. "'M not a dog, Tony," he complained cutely, but Tony gave him an exasperated look. "Fiiiiine." He yawned and stood, slowly following the rest of the drunk Avengers into the elevator.

Once they were alone, Tony and Loki stood awkwardly for a moment before, sighing, Tony took the drunken and clearly unsettled god by the arm. "Bed time for you, too, Rock of Ages."

Loki jerked out of the billionaire's grasp, snapping, "I can walk on my own just fine, Midgardian." _So much for courtesy._

Tony held up his hands defensively. "Okay, okay." Then he started walking towards his room, not missing the hesitation before the sound of the god's footsteps trailed after him. When they reached the room, Tony snapped his fingers and a dim light illuminated it. _Like magic, _he joked to himself.

He turned to face the god who had stopped in the doorway, flicking his uncertain gaze between Tony and the bed. Tony smirked, "Ready to snuggle, sweatheart?"

The sorcerer tensed, annoyance replacing the uncertainty in his eyes. "If you think-"

"Relax, princess." He interrupted, brushing past the flustered god with a chuckle. "Bed's all yours. I'll take the couch tonight." He didn't stick around to see Loki's reaction. His head was swirling and he was a bit annoyed, despite himself._He was perfectly fine making out two seconds ago. Tease._He smirked at himself, flopping onto the sofa and pulling a throw over himself. _Serves me right, fraternizing with the enemy. _He closed his eyes, and dreamed of scotch.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"Ughhhh," Tony slammed his head onto the table, pressing the cup of coffee he was cradling to his throbbing skull. "Remind me never to drink again, Jarvis."

"_I will try, sir._"

A pot clanked loudly and Tony groaned again, peaking at the soldier who was cooking everyone breakfast, feeling totally fine, being a super soldier and all. "Steve, be gentle," he hissed, and Clint, Bruce, and Tasha all groaned, in similar boats themselves.

"Excuse me." Steve's voice was mockingly loud and he clanked another pot. "Think of it as my revenge for you not telling me you had an altered alcohol which could actually get me drunk."

"That was forever ago."

"Last night was not forever ago, Stark."

"Feels like it to me."

The super soldier sighed. "What were you thinking? So much could have gone wrong." He cracked an egg and let it fall into the grease-filled pan, sizzling loudly.

"Please save the lecture for later, mom." Tony begged, covering his head with his arms.

Clint whined, "I feel like I drank a gallon of gasoline. My throat! My tongue!"

Tasha scoffed, "Your tongue was fine last night." She rolled her head around her neck, popping her neck. Tony peeked at her through his arms, annoyed.

Bruce growled at the sound, "Don't do that, you monster."

She gave him an amused look, cracking her fingers, too.

Just then the elevator dinged, making the three of them jump, and Thor slowly walked into the room, squinting his eyes at the bright kitchen lights. When he saw them all gathered, a big smile lit up his face. "Friends! What a spectacular celebration we had!" His voice was normal, but it seemed so loud to Tony's hungover brain.

"It was a foolish party, Thor," Steve said, waving his spatula at the thunder god.

"Nonsense! It was a much-needed bonding experience." The Asgardian sat next to Bruce.

The billionaire groaned, "Great, so you'll all be moving out today. You came, we bonded, and now I need an empty tower." Even listening to them breathing hurt his head.

Clint scoffed, "Like we'd leave you with that slimy cretin." Clearly he was referring to Loki. "Who knows what he'd do to you."

"Yes, what indeed," Bruce muttered sardonically, giving Tony a glance.

Tony whined, "I hate house guests." Especially when he was single or hungover. Right now he was both.

"Then we'll be taking Loki into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody." Steve walked over and placed a plate of scrabbled eggs in front of each of them, returning to the stove to cook his own. Tony saw the soldier was wearing a red-white-and-blue apron. He chose wisely not to comment.

The genius poked his eggs with his fork, not lifting his head off the table. "No."

Thor frowned, "My brother is here under my watch as part of his rehabilitation. Taking him into custody would hinder any advancements of his personality." _Ah. So that's really why he's here. I wonder if Loki knows._

Tony snorted, flicking his eyes from his eggs to the blonde god. "You really brought your homicidal brother to _Earth _to teach him empathy? We aren't exactly a race of bleeding hearts, unless it's meant in the literal sense. We kill each other all the time." He purposely repeated Loki's reasoning, amused at how accurate the sorcerer really was.

Thor frowned, "In my time on Midgard, I have seen such courage and kindness. Your race is flawed, as is every other race, however, humans have an enormous capacity for love."

"Love's just an illusion," the billionaire retorted cynically. He pushed his plate of eggs towards the god of thunder, whose own plate was sadly already empty.

"Then what better place is there to teach the God of Illusions than in a world full of illusionary love?" Tasha chimed in, her voice thoughtful.

Clint groaned, leaning back in his chair. "Why bother? Guy's nucking futs. Just off him and do the universe a huge favour."

"How heroic of you," Banner snapped. "Executing people for being flawed is a great hypocrisy, coming from us."

"Why not teach him in Asgard? Bringing him here is like putting a time bomb in a school." Steve joined them at the table, eating his own plate of eggs.

"Clearly Asgard is not the place to reform him. It is there he was raised." Thor sighed. "It was there his heart broke."

"Boo-hoo," Clint rolled his eyes. "Poor him."

Tasha elbowed the assassin.

"He's a murderer, Thor. A selfish prick with self-esteem issues! Look at all the blood on his hands! What he made me do! All the innocent blood he spilled, and even Phil's," Barton's jaw tightened when he mentioned the fallen agent. "It's wrong to have him here."

"Aren't we all murderers?" Tony's voice was low, dark, and barely audible. "Just because our intentions were different, then the lives we took are justifiable?" His voice cracked and he sipped his coffee, ignoring everyone's eyes as they stared at him. They all knew he was mostly talking about his previous line of business. "Hell, even I got a second chance. Taking his life in cold blood would make our own existence pointless."

"Dude, we're the _Avengers_, not the Babysitters. We avenge things. In cold blood." Clint narrowed his eyes.

"We are protectors and examples," Steve muttered quietly. "Not executioners."

"Killing him would just cause a war anyway. And I'm sworn off causing wars." Tony looked up and saw Thor giving him a look of respect, clearly grateful for the support. There was a movement in the entry point of the hallway, which was cast in shadow. The genius looked over and watched the very subject of their conversation stride into the room. His hair was wet and un-brushed, so it was clear he had showered, and he was in the sweats from the day before and one of Tony's black t-shirts on. Since the raven-haired god was taller than the billionaire, there was an inch gap between the bottom of the shirt and the waste-band of the sweats. Tony swallowed hard, liking the way pale flesh would peek out every few movements.

"Good morning," Loki smirked at the people at the table. _He probably heard the entire conversation._

"I would hardly call it 'good,'" Natasha quipped, smiling at their enemy.

"How are you and Thor not hungover as fuck," Clint grumbled. "Stupid gods."

Thor stood and clapped the trickster on the back, an action which surprisingly didn't even make him flinch. "We are used to much stronger meads." His voice was jolly and just fucking loud.

"Seriously?" Tony stood up. "I'm going to go curl up in a black hole before your voice breaks my ears."

Clint slammed his head on the table. "We could just make a suicide pact, Tony."

The billionaire groaned, "Don't tempt me, Barton."

Just as Tony walked towards his bedroom, the tv in his common room flashed on, revealing the rather angry face of Director Fury. The billionaire did a complete turn around strode into the room, plopping down on the sofa.

"Hey sweetheart. Nice of you to come see me. Best birthday present ever!"

"It's not your goddamned birthday, Stark. Where the fuck is the rest of your team?"

Clearly everyone heard the angry man's words. Because the entire team strode into the room. Tony looked back and saw Loki slip unseen into the shadows.

"They're all here, honey, no need to get your panties in a bunch." He smirked as he saw Fury's eyes flash dangerously.

"Your extraction of Stark from his kidnappers was unfortunately successful. So why the fuck am I getting reports of a weapon of mass destruction being aimed at our shores?"

Tony smiled, "It depends who's aiming it."

"The Russians. They claim our superheroes assaulted the czar's men."

"Czar? Surely Ivan isn't in charge."

"Ivan is the head of military under their new leadership. Are you trying to start a war?"

"So you knew father was alive?" Tasha's voice was cold, like death.

"It isn't important. What is important if that you all do your jobs. Figure out what the Russians are really after while I try and clean up your goddamn mess." The screen went black.

Tony sighed, "I love it when he's angry," he said in a sarcastically endearing tone.

Tasha had her arms crossed, one hand reaching up to grab her chin in a thoughtful position. "How can he say that information isn't important? That bastard is beyond dangerous."

"He was probably more focused on, you know, alien invaders." Tony studied her composure, trying to understand what he was missing.

The red-haired assassin's eyebrow twitched, it was the only sign of how angry she was before she calmly slipped out of the room. She walked in the direction of the roof access.

Clint sighed, following her. Thor and Cap were standing with their arms crossed, mutual frowns of confusion on their faces. Bruce muttered something about the lab before leaving.

Suddenly, Loki slipped over from the shadows and sat with all the gracefulness of a cat on the chair opposite of Tony. The sorcerer watched them all with a measured look, before his piercing green gaze fell on the billionaire, his expression unreadable.

"The _Russian _Midgardians you all are speaking of. What they desire is Lady Romanof. How they plan on meeting that desire is by attempting to ally themselves with any hostile forces they can discover."

Steve gave him a sceptical look. "How do you know this."

Loki grinned slowly before tapping his ear. "I listen, Steve Rogers. I listen."

xxxxxxxxxxx

A/N: PHEW! I thought I would never finish! =_='

So I hope this chapter pleased everyone. It was mostly filler, but some things had to happen to move the story on.

Thank you for reading.

To show your appreciate, please donate 1 review. ;)


	6. Chapter 6: And The Plot Thickens

A/N:

((I am so sorry this too so long to get to you. I swear the next one will be quicker and longer. I just have been so busy! I love you guys.))

9,470 views.

199 follows.

69 reviews.

78 favourites.

You guys...I can't even explain my feels.

"Thank you." ...that doesn't even cover it.

Here's another chapter! Embrace it~~

Chapter 6: And The Plot Thickens...

Steve and Thor sat down next to each other, they were on the same sofa as Tony but not near him. The billionaire frowned at them. _Do I have rabies?_ He sighed quietly, looking back that the sorcerer sitting across from him. The man was watching Thor and Steve with a closed off expression. Tony stared at the god, wishing he knew what was going on in that mind of his. When Loki's gaze met his own, the man felt a shiver of excitement tickle his spine at the way the sorcerer's eyes seemed to be trying to pick him apart as well.

"So, Loki," Steve shifted uneasily, "What have you _heard_ about the Russians?"

Tony frowned when the soldier succeeded in getting the trickster's attention. "What would you like to know?" The tone in his voice was sly, like he was waving a bone in front of a dog's face without actually giving him it.

"What are the winning lottery numbers?" Tony flashed a smile, unable to resist smartassery.

Steve snapped at the genius, "Can you be serious for five minutes?" Tony grinned over at the disapproving soldier. "Loki, just tell me what you know!"

"Tsk, tsk. Not even a 'please', Steve Rogers?" The trickster grinned widely before making a mockingly sincere expression of offence. "Where are your manners?"

Tony choked on his laughter, masking it with a cough when he received a death-glare from Steve. "Yeah, Cap'n, you should be nicer to the sociopathic sorcerer. He's a person, too." _Why is annoying people so fun?_

Loki's mouth twitched, his eyes twinkling at the billionaire. Steve leaped to his feet, fists clenched, but before he could say or do anything, Thor placed a hand on his arm.

The thunder god looked at Loki calmly. "Please share what you know to my friends."

Loki sighed, resigned, "When you ask like that... The Midgardian, Ivan Romanoff, is not entirely sane." He looked at the ceiling, "Your Director will soon learn that Ivan is not so well supported by his superiors as he has led you to believe."

"What do you mean?" Steve questioned, and Thor leaned forward a bit, almost like he wanted to ask Loki something but didn't want to spoil the mood.

Loki continued to examine the ceiling, presumably mulling over the question.

"He means that the people behind Tony's kidnapping were not working for the czar." Tasha walked into the room, Clint close at her heels. She held up her blackberry when everyone's eyes turned to her. "Fury just called me. He told me to tell you that he opened negotiations with the Russian government to politely ask why they had nukes aimed at the United States' major cities." She frowned, leaning against the wall near the chair Loki was in. Clint stayed in the doorway, silently observing. "The Russian government had no idea what was happening. When they attempted to shut Ivan down, he resisted. And now he's on the run with three nukes." Her lips formed a tight, angry line.

"Are we going after him?" Steve was still standing, and by now so were Thor and Tony. The soldier's question was exasperated. He clearly disliked not being in the Know.

Tasha shook her head. "I've got the green light from Fury to go after him with Clint. We need to take him out quietly while you all stay behind to watch for any launched nukes."

Loki rose to his feet and Tony looked over to see a frown on his face. "You may become ensnared, little spider, in a deadly web."

Clint took a step forward, clearly interpreting that as a threat, and Thor let out a small sound. When Tony glanced over at the golden god he saw the thunderer's face drawn into a troubled grimace as he stared at his brother.

Natasha bared her teeth in a feral smile, pushing off the wall. "So be it." She walked into the kitchen and out of sight, clearly headed for the elevator.

Clint gave the sorcerer a cold hard stare before slinking off after her.

"Well, since everything is okay here, I'm going to go sleep off this hangover." Tony clapped his hands and made to walk down the hall.

"Tony," he paused, not bothering to turn and face the soldier. "Stay sober. We may need you."

He waved a hand in dismissal. "You always need me."_ Cause I'm awesome._ He trod down the hall, yawning, and into his room. _I need a shower. I smell like beer and coffee._ Not that either of those smells are bad. They just hid his usual musk of gear oil and liquor. It's a much more refined scent.

He stripped and stepped into the warm, pounding water. _Thank God for waterproof casts._ He showered in the dark, so he didn't have to worry about the light. The soothing shower eased his headache a lot, and made him very drowsy-as a good warm shower should. The billionaire stepped out of the suave, modern style shower and wrapped a towel around his waste, grabbing another which he used on his hair and to towel the rest of himself dry. As he was scrubbing the water out of his hair, Tony walked into his dimly lit bedroom and stopped dead in his tracks. Not because he wasn't unaccustomed to people being in his room when he was half-dressed and hungover as fuck. But he was unaccustomed with the "people" being Loki. _What the fuck, didn't I give him his own room? _He realized he had forgotten that. Poor Tony.

"Um. Loki. You're in my room, that's cool." He continued drying his hair.

The god was standing by his bed, watching him with an amused expression. He smiled slightly. "You have not yet relocated me."

"Yeah, I'll get to that." He walked over to his closet and pulled out his pajama pants; they were his favourite ones which were black with yellow ducks all over them. Pepper had given him them for Christmas one year as a joke, and she would always get a bit misty-eyed when he wore them. With practiced ease, the playboy slipped the pants on, taking the towel from his waste simultaneously, without showing a single flash of flesh. He threw the towels in the dirty laundry hamper by his door where he had put his clothes from earlier before showering. He turned to the god in his bedroom and raised his eyebrows. "Well, I'm planning on sleeping, so unless you're finally up for cuddling, I suggest you get out."

The trickster frowned at him. "Why did you kiss me?"

Tony blinked. He wasn't used to being asked _why_. That was usually because kissing is a _mutual_ act, therefore the reasons are generally...mutual. "Uh."

Those sea green eyes were penetrating, and rather distracting with the way they moved up and down his body, lingering on his arc reactor, before meeting his brown eyes again. "I was not aware it was a custom on Midgard to kiss your enemies."

_I suppose yelling 'no homo' and running from the room would be a bad response?_ Tony's lips curled into a smile and he let his own gaze travel along the other's body. When he met Loki's eyes again, they were dark with want and that just fed fuel to Tony's sex-fire. "I seem to recall being kissed back. Is it a custom on Asgard?"

The god's mouth twitched. "Hardly." He took a step closer and Tony matched it.

"Then, to answer your question, _why not?_" Tony swallowed hard, trying not to let his eyes stray to the god's neck. He wanted to taste him again...

Loki seemed to be having trouble focusing, also. Tony would have been amused by the way the god's eyes danced from his eyes to his lips if it hadn't turned him on so badly.

"We wouldn't want to be breaking any rules." The billionaire's eyes twinkled his challenge as the half-hearted words of wisdom slipped from his mouth. He licked his dry lips, staring at Loki's slightly parted mouth.

The trickster growled slightly, he stepped closer to Tony so that there was hardly any space between them now. "I do what I want."

Tony's eyelids were heavy with arousal. "So do I." He grinned, leaning forward to capture those lips at last. He moaned, leaning into Loki's body and they're tongues tangled, and he slid his un-harmed hand up the black shirt, feeling the ridges of scars no longer covered by bandages. They tumbled onto the bed, Tony on top. He pushed his knee in between Loki's legs, brushing god's bulge and receiving a shudder from the body beneath him.

Suddenly Loki grabbed his casted arm in a glowing, green, and vice-like grip. Tony gasped as the cast crumbled away from his arm, feeling a burning and tugging sensation as Loki's magic healed the limb. He looked down at the trickster in surprise.

Loki grinned wildly up at him. "I want _both_ of your hands on me."

_He doesn't have to say that twice._ The billionaire pulled off the shirt Loki was wearing, and slid his healed hand over the fading scars on the god's chest and under the waste band of the sweatpants, tenderly gripping the arousal there while he suckled on Loki's neck, his other hand tangled in the long black hair. Loki moaned softly, a shudder shaking his body, and he pulled Tony's mouth back to his before running his nails down the billionaire's back, undoubtedly leaving welts. But Tony didn't care. He sucked on Loki's tongue, rubbing his hand slowly up and down the god's length, smiling at every gasp, moan, and growl that he swallowed from the mouth he was invading.

"_Sir_."

They both ignored the AI, Tony growling softly at the interruption. _Damn computer._

"_Mr. Stark_," Can computers sound disapproving? "_Captain Rogers is on route to your room. Unless it is your intent to be discovered in a compromising position, I strongly suggest you cease in fraternizing with the enemy._"

Loki pressed his hands on Tony's chest, pushing until the genius ceased his kissing and looked at him.

"Thank you, Jarvis." Tony's tone was laced with annoyance. Loki smirked up at him, but the effect was less mocking due to the flush of arousal colouring his pale cheeks. Tony dipped his head and placed a chaste kiss on those swollen lips, flicking his tongue to trace them. "We were interrupted. Again."

"I could eliminate your team," the god sounded hopeful, but the breathless way he spoke and arched his body up, nipping Tony's ear, told the billionaire that the threat was half-hearted

Tony hummed deep in his throat. "Do not tempt me."

"That was my intent, Stark." Loki flashed him an intoxicating grin before slipping away from the man to stand by his bed.

Tony groaned, reluctantly sitting on the edge of the bed, watching Loki's muscles ripple under his scars as the god bent to retrieve the discarded shirt. _Fuck me_. "Damn." The word was muttered under his breath, but the smug smirk on Loki's face made it obvious he heard. There was a single knock before Steve walked into the room.

"Hey, Tony, I-" He stopped dead as Loki finished pulling the shirt on.

Tony yawned nonchalantly, standing to get a shirt for himself, not caring if his scratched back showed. "Hey there Cap. Cat got your tongue?" He smirked slyly at the soldier.

"Why is he...What were..." he shook his head slowly. "Tony. Some SHIELD agents are here. They want to see us all, save the obvious," he gave Loki a glare, "exceptions."

Tony wrinkled his nose. "Stupid reason to interrupt me," he muttered.

"What?" Steve looked confused, clearly not hearing, but Loki chuckled softly.

"Enjoy the meeting." The god sprawled casually on the bed, receiving a frustrated glance from the billionaire.

"I'd enjoy it of everyone attended naked," he snapped, pulling on his black sabbath shirt.

Steve blushed, "Why would... That would be improper." _I wonder who he just imagined naked? _

Tony just scoffed, walking past him and clapping the soldier on the shoulder. "C'mon Spangles. Let's get this over with."

The two of them walked down the hallway and back into the kitchen. Tony was getting sick of the place. All he wanted to do was return to the intoxicating man in his bedroom. His attention was immediately brought to the people waiting for him when he saw Nick Fury standing by his table with three other agents. Two were the usual men-in-black, but the third was a woman in a suit. She was gorgeous, with long blonde hair and eerily familiar blue eyes. Bruce was standing in the dark corner of the kitchen. He met Tony's eyes with a small smile of greeting.

Tony leaned conspiring towards Steve. "You didn't mention that cock-block-Fury was here," the vulgar nickname got Tony the shoulder-punch and beet-red blush he was aiming for.

Nick glared over at him, nodding in greeting, "Stark, Rogers," _Aw, he said hello._ "Where is Thor?" As he spoke, the golden god trudged into the room looking rather depressed. "Good. Now that you're all here, I have someone for you to meet. Agent Romanoff and Agent Barton are already familiar with her." He motioned towards the gorgeous woman. "This is Virginia Coulson. She will be taking over in her uncle's place."

Tony felt his heart constrict and he sucked in a sharp breath. "No one can replace Phil, Nick." He gave her a hostile once-over. "Especially not his bimbo niece."

Virginia's eyebrow shot up and an equally hostile smile twisted her lips. "Nice to meet you, too."

Fury cleared his throat, "Agent Coulson has just as much field experience as her uncle-she was his closest confident. He himself recommended her for his job if we ever found it necessary to replace him." He gave Tony a hard look. "She will be awarded the same respect as her predecessor."

"Right, so then no respect." Tony's mouth was a tight line. "Thanks for the introduction, Director, now if you please, you're interrupting my nap time." He turned around to leave.

"I received a call from Miss Potts yesterday."

That stopped Tony dead in his escape. He turned back instantly, giving the man a scrutinizing look. "Oh?"

"She seemed about to tell me something and promptly excused herself and hung up." The black man's eye bore into Tony with an intimidating intensity. "Is there anything I should know, Mr. Stark?"

Tony gave a nervous smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. _Damn, this guy..._ "Well I was debating on having my living room repainted soon, so don't wear any white when you come to the Tower next time." _Because we know his wardrobe isn't entirely black._

The muscles on the Director's forehead tensed, and it became obvious he was suspecting something. Without a word, he approached the elevator, flanked by the two suits. He didn't look at Stark as he got on. The new Agent Coulson did, however, glare at him as she followed her boss.

The doors shut and Tony's shoulders slumped. "Won't this be fun."

"Tony, that was rude," Bruce's voice was low and polite, as always. "She lost Phil, too."

Tony glared at the scientist, "I don't give a damn." When Bruce just continued giving him a level look, the billionaire deflated. "I'll be nicer next time, Bruce." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. The motions drew attention to his hand and he silently cursed at himself, wondering how he was going to explain this.

"Tony," Bruce's arms dropped and he walked over to his friend, lifting the now-healed arm. "Your arm!"

The billionaire winced, jerking his arm away, trying to think up a lie. "Yeah, it's my arm. Has been my whole life, thank you for noticing."

Bruce didn't even bother to reply to the sarcasm, "How did you heal it?"

"I didn't." He smiled wryly, " Loki did."

"What?" Steve exclaimed, he was standing by Tony with Thor, both had incredulous expressions on their faces.

"My brother healed you? Why?"

Tony shrugged, in no way interested in telling them why. "He owed me one, I guess."

Thor frowned, nonplussed. "I do not understand."

"Well I gave him a place to stay without turning him over to SHIELD. And he doesn't have to be fawned over by you all the time." Tony raised his eyebrows in an innocent expression. "Need I go on?"

"Yes, and the two of you being half-naked in your bedroom earlier has nothing to do with it." Steve's expression was dark-he's not a stupid fellow, so surely he can piece two-and-two together. "So soon after Pepper, Stark? You are incorrigible."

Thor's expression was, pun unintended, thunderous. "Anthony Howard Stark, if you-"

"Woah, woah, _woah_. You need to slow it down, people. He healed my _arm._ And I had just showered. He was showing me his wounds, that's all." It's hard to keep a straight face when you're lying. "Relax."

Bruce's expression said he wasn't fooled, but he just watched Tony's face with an unreadable silence.

Steve scoffed and walked over to the table, slumping into a seat. "Whatever, Tony."

Thor looked confused, and Bruce took his arm. "Come with me, Thor. I need Mjolnir in the lab."

When the two were gone, Tony walked over to the bar/counter and got out a glass and the bottle of gin.

"Want something to drink, Cap?"

Steve sighed, "No, I do not."

"Look, Steve, what's got you frazzled?"

"You lying. We're a team, Tony. I can't have you running around sleeping with everything that moves!"

"No, there's something else. You're acting off." He splashed some ice into his cup. _Fuck responsibility_. "You in love?"

Steve snapped his gaze over to the genius playboy, a shocked look in his blue eyes. "W-what? No."

Tony grinned wickedly, "Right. And I'm a singing fat lady."

"Stop trying to make this about me," His voice was tense, clearly Tony was onto something.

"How was the meeting?" Loki walked into the kitchen before the billionaire could continue his investigation, and Tony lifted his glass in greeting.

"Fanfuckingtastic, princess."

Loki sat down across from Steve and stared at him with guarded eyes while the soldier stared back. "I imagine so."

Rogers huffed and sat back, rubbing his face with his hands. "Yeah, we got to meet the replacement for the agent you killed."

Loki stiffened, an enreadable look crossing his face before his mask of a mockinf smile slid into place. Steve probably didn't notice, but Tony did. One of the perks of not being able to take his eyes off the god. "Hopefully this agent is not quite so foolish."

Steve leaned forward slowly, shoulders tense, "Phil was not foolish."

Loki raised an eyebrow. "He shot me."

"You were trying to take over the world!"

Loki shrugged, "It took your entire team to stop me. He was foolish for even trying."

Steve's face was dark, clearly he was beyond pissed. "A coward like you could never understand."

Loki sighed, a tired expression replacing the mocking smile. "Yes, I suppose you are right."

Steve shot Tony a surprised look. "W-what?"

After a moment, the god looked at the soldier, "Explain to me why your people will not submit to being ruled?" Loki looked genuinely curious. "Life would become immensely easier for the entire race."

"Loki, there's something you've got to understand about humans." Steve leaned his elbows on the table, a frown creasing his brow. "See, we would rather go down in flames our _own _way than be told how to. Take this country for example, The United States of America. The last guy who tried to rule us was 200 years ago. A group of _farmers _took on the strongest military force in the world. All in the name of freedom to decide your own fate. And we didn't care if we would win. All we cared about was knowing we tried. The heart of a human is immensely more complex than you've been led to believe."

The god eyed him for a moment, clearly taking in the information. "And the farmers...they defeated the strongest military in Midgard?"

Steve grinned, "Oh heck yes."

"How?"

The soldier stood up and chuckled. "Because they believed they could, Loki." He walked out of the room leaving the trickster lost in thought. Tony was standing at the counter drinking a gin, watching the emotions flashing unchecked across the sorcerer's face. _Amazement. Confusion. Understanding. _A genuine smile twisted those sexy lips.

"Did you learn something, Reindeer Games?"

"I should cease in underestimating your kind."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A/N:

I have a Tumblr. You can stalk me if you wish. lunarlemonkidd,tumblr,com is plummuffin's tumblr.

I also have an RP blog at tastylokimuffins,tumbler,com.

((obviously the commas should be replaced with periods.))

Also, stalk my beta at brucinator,tumbler,com. Her and I RP all the time. We need a Tony though. So hit us up. hehehe~ We also need anyone else. We will RP with anyone. :D

So two funny story time:

My cat scratched me! And I told my mom how it happened (I was poking her repeatedly saying "Kitty! Come play with the ponies!" in an awful British accent. I can't imagine why she scratched me.) and she told me, "We both know you got those cuts from sleeping with Lo'Kitty!-winks-"

And while I'm laughing, my dad is humming. I listen and realize he is humming the My Little Pony theme. My parents are so weird...and awesome.

So I am working with an OC in here. It's a present for my beta who hates frostiron and yet still helps me. So just...don't be upset, please!

Please go read NightOwl4829's story called Silver. It's awesome so far! She needs lots of Loki love.


	7. Chapter 7: When Shit Goes Down

A/N: And perhaps this is the chapter you have been anticipating?

I just gotta say I'm really sorry this took so long to get up. My life has been utter hell lately. Long story short, I started college. Expect less delays.

Thank you to everyone who has consistently followed and reviewed this story in my silence. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint (it is short, sorry). The next one is when the real drama gets to pick up~

(I threw in some Bruce and Tasha POV. My Tony muse has abandoned me momentarily.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except for Virginia and Ivan. (Sadly.)

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Chapter 7: When Shit Goes Down (like planes)

The plane ride was oddly silent. Not that _silence _was odd; Clint and Tasha rarely spoke as it was-they hardly had any need for words.

But this silence was tense, and it irked Tasha like an ant crawling on her arm during a picnic. Nobody likes ants. Except maybe Ant-Man.

She sighed and glanced over at Clint who was dozing in the co-pilot chair. He looked so peaceful when he slept. She'd known him...forever. And ever since Loki had controlled the assassin's mind, she'd rarely seen him with a relaxed expression save in his sleep. _This man means the world to me,_ she stopped her thoughts before they got ahead of her. The love she felt for Barton was wrong-it was dangerous and forbidden in their profession. But they couldn't help themselves all the time. Everyone screws up, right? She scoffed softly to herself as she thought back to the odd way Tony had been acting around their prisoner back at the tower. _I hope I can make it back before he does anything too terribly stupid._ For a genius, that man was an utter idiot. Poor Pepper.

She checked the monitoring system of their aircraft. Even though it was a Stark Industries creation, the assassin found herself constantly checking for malfunctions. Maybe that was because she'd sabotaged too many planes in her lifetime. Everything seemed to be going smoothly until the plane shuddered. _Shuddered_. Like an icecube had been slid into its shirt. That's not exactly normal. Planes did not wear shirts, last Tasha checked. _Something's wrong._ She flipped a few switches and checked the monitors. Nothing was giving off an alarm. The plane shuddered again, this time harder. _It's as if we are breaking through barriers._ She frowned. Being over 30,000 feet in the air was not her ideal situation and even less so in a malfunctioning tin can of death. She glanced over at Clint, and her quiet panic met his cool blue eyes and he smiled slightly, understanding her general unease with height. Spiders don't like falling.

"Tash, what's with the shudders?"

Her shoulders relaxed when his warm voice washed over her. Just being near him was enough to make her feel safe. "I don't know. It's like we're passing through barriers or something."

"How far are we from Russia?"

She frowned, "That's the other problem. We should already be there, but all I can see is water and clouds." The plane shuddered again, this time the warning lights began to flash angrily. "JARVIS, what's going on?" Luckily Tony installed him in Avenger-related planes.

"_I do not know, Miss Romanof. As you suggested, you appear to be passing through barriers, similar to sound barriers however without any increase in speed._"

"Hm," Clint sat forward and glanced at the monitors and then out the window. "Let's try landing on the water."

Natasha shot him a confused look but began to descend as he suggested.

"_You are reaching dangerous heights, Miss Romanof. I suggest pulling up before you reach the water._"

"JARVIS, aren't we supposed to be over land with these coordinates?"

"_Yes._"

Tasha looked over at Clint, frowning still. He met her gaze with a frown of his own. "Open a channel to Sta-" Before she could finish her order, the plane started shuddering violently, just as she was slowing down to land on the water-which was oddly not reacting to the blowing of the jet engines. She grit her teeth as she and Clint clung to their seats, loosing control of the steering wheel. The plane lurched forward and crashed into the ground, instead of water. The movement jerked Tasha's head into the panel before her, and she groaned, black dots swirling in her vision. Before she passed out, she saw the sky and water hologram shimmer an inch or two above the plane, like looking at a computer screen sideways.

_What?_

...

Natasha groaned, feeling awareness wash over her body with a skull-splitting headache. _If this is another hangover..._ She opened her eyes to the sight of blood caked on the control panel of the airplane She rolled her head on her neck and groaned, gingerly touching the wound on her forehead. Good news was it was closed, and the scab didn't feel too long. Tasha twisted around to look for Clint. He was slumped in his seat, unconscious, but she didn't see any visible wounds on him. The assassin undid her seatbelt and walked over to him, swaying momentarily when a wave of vertigo. When she reached him she dropped to her knees and undid his belt, allowing his body to slide to the floor.

"Clint," She hissed, looking out the fractured window and seeing three trucks headed towards their location. "Wake up."

She didn't wait to see if he stirred. She stood quickly and rushed towards the com system, picking up the radio. "Hello?" She tried, feeling a bit panicked before she heard Tony's voice.

"_Miss me that much, sunshine?_"

"Tony, we crashed in Russia! Jarvis should have the coordinates. There's something bad going on here."

"_Nat? You're breaking up real bad_."

"Tony! We crashed!"

She sighed in frustration, throwing down the radio and turning to shake Clint. "Barton!"

She looked over at the ominous black cars as they pulled up and bit her lip. _Shit._ Clint was in bad condition and so was she. With the com system down there was no way she'd be able to wriggle out of this mess alive. There was only one option left. Playing dead, or in other words, surrender.

Begrudgingly, the assassin laid on the floor near her chair and cast a worried glance at her partner. This was a dangerous move—either the Russians could kill them on sight or take them "unconscious" into custody. Neither option was good. She gritted her teeth and prayed to whichever-God-that-was-not-from-Asgard that they would survive this. _Godspeed, Tony._

"What, exactly, do you mean?"

"We're gonna bond. Movie night."

"I caught that, but with _Loki_? Seriously?" Steve was gaping at him, for some reason appalled.

"Tony, how is this a productive activity?" Bruce was rubbing his forehead with one hand, his glasses in the other.

_Why did no one else think this would be fun? _Tony sighed, "Bruce, you need to unwind. We all do. The assassins have been gone a day and we have all be wrapped up in work lately. We need to take a break."

"Since when are you the responsible adult?" Steve gave him a suspecting look, slinging a fresh punching bag over his shoulder. They were in Bruce's lab, where the punching bags were tampered with in an attempt to make them more durable. "And getting drunk isn't work, Tony."

"That was one night!" Tony huffed. "None of you complained at the time."

Bruce sighed, "I suppose one movie couldn't hurt." He glanced longingly back at his lab table.

Steve scoffed, dropping the punching bag back to the floor. "I want to pick it."

Tony grinned widely, "See, I knew you'd come around!"

Bruce rolled his eyes, stiffening when Tony threw his arm around the scientist's shoulder. "I still don't see how this is constructive."

Tony shook him amiably, smirking. "You think too much. Besides, we have to show Loki the awesomeness of Midgardian filmography. Remember when Thor watched Hellboy? It was worth replacing the living room when he summoned Mjolnir and flipped his shit."

"If you say so. You weren't the one who had to keep Hulk back."

A devious glint lit up Stark's eyes. "You could've let him go."

"Tony-" the terse reply was cutoff by Steve clearing his throat.

"You two done? I haven't got all day."

"We're coming, don't get your panties in a bunch, Cap'n." The genius let his arm fall from Banner's shoulders and began to follow the soldier. With his back to the scientist he missed the slight blush and the flustered way he fixed his glasses.

Loki, however, did not. He melted from the shadows as Steve and Tony left the lab, and blocked Bruce's exit, a slight smirk curving his lips. "Doctor Banner," he stepped forward as the man in question backed away.

"L-Loki. What do you want?" His eyes darted for an escape. _Damn it. _This psychopath made him so nervous.

"I came to speak with you." Bruce glimpsed a flash of amusement in the god's features before he schooled his expression into one of slight disinterest, raising an eyebrow. "About my magic."

"What about it?" The scientist in Bruce led him to snap his eyes to Loki, interest peaked. His shoulders relaxed almost instantly._ I need to stop being so jumpy. Tony trusts him._

"I understand that you study things?"

"Uh, yeah, you could call it that. I'm a scientist. It's kind of like being a magician, but we create our own magic."

Loki blinked slowly at him, "I want you to study my magic."

Bruce's breath hitched unwittingly, whether out of excitement or surprise he did not know. "Wha...what do you mean?"

"You need to learn, Doctor Banner, about things over which you have no control." The god's eyes twinkled with the familiar madness from their last encounter, causing him to shift uncomfortably.

"I, uh, know a few things which fall into that category, actually." _Like my heart._

"Do any of you know how to track the Chitauri?" His voice was borderline condescending. This was beginning to annoy Bruce.

"No..."

"To sense the approach of me or my br-Thor?"

"Not exactly, no."

"Well then," He smiled slightly, "I mean to teach you, Banner."

"Why?"

His face grew dark. "Because there are other things you will need to be on the lookout for."

Just then, Tony came bouncing back into the room. "C'mon Brucy-ahhhh, that's where you've been, Loki!" The genius grinned. "C'mon you two, the movie is about to start."

"Tony, there's such a thing as a 'pause button.'" Bruce grumbled good-natured-ly, raising a brow at his friend.

"I don't like waiting." The genius shot back.

Loki shot Bruce a meaningful look. "I expect we will begin tomorrow." And then the god strode from the room. He shouldn't look like royalty in sweatpants and a t-shirt, but he did.

Tony pointed his thumb over his shoulder after Loki. "What was that about?"

"I'll fill you in later." Banner strode past Tony, elbowing him. "Hurry up."

Stark chuckled and followed him into the living-room where everyone was seated and waiting for the movie to start. He plopped down next to Loki-who was literally as far as one could get from the spot Thor was occupying-and shot the god a smirk when Loki glared at him.

"JARVIS! Dim the lights! Everyone got popcorn? Good. Movie time." He wiggled a bit as the first scene opened. He casually entwined his fingers with Loki's, ignoring the way the god stiffened at the contact before slowly relaxing.

They were just at the part of the movie where the shark ironically named Bruce was talking of his father, when Jarvis interrupted.

The movie paused and the lights turned back up. Both Tony and Loki jerked their hands away from each other's touch before anyone saw.

"_Sir._" The AI patched them immediately through to an incoming communication.

"Miss me that much, sunshine?"

"_Ton...e...cr...d...Rus...sia...Jarvis...ld...av...the...coord...in...here...somet...bad...go...o...ere._"

Everyone exchanged a concerned glance and Tony jumped to his feet, Steve joining him, both frowning. "Nat? You're breaking up real bad_._"

"_Ton...we...cra...shed_!"

The fizzing stopped as the com went dead. Tony felt his heart drop and his mind began to race. "Jarvis, do you have the coordinates of where they were last?"

"_Naturally, sir._"

"Good." He looked around the room. "Let's suit up guys.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A/N: My tumblr is now plummuffins, not lunarlemonkidd. I figured out how to fix it. Also, follow my Slenderman blog at slendermensch. I am willing to harass anyone. :D

Story Time:

My friend and I were watching Thor and we had a funny conversation:

Katie: "It's so sad, like Shakespeare!"

Me: "No it's worse, it's like the Lion King!"

irony. LOL cause we're dorks.

Also, did you know there is a clip after Thor? -found out recently-


End file.
